Blunck And Chodounsky Are Named To The 2018 Olympic Team ~
Excitement is running high here in Crested Butte as locals Blunck and Chodounsky are named to the 2018 Olympic Team. Crested Butte local Aaron Blunck secured his spot on Team USA for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on January 12th at the second Toyota Grand Prix. Slalom skier David Chodounsky was also named to the Olympic Team last week, qualifying based on his World Cup points after his 15th place take in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Aaron continues to make us proud here in Crested Butte with his freeski halfpipe skills, taking gold medals at the Aspen X Games as well as the World Championships. Not to mention that at only 21 years old, he will be heading to his second Olympics in Pyeongchang. Aaron was 3rd in Olympic qualifying going into the US Grand Prix at Mammoth after placing 3rd at Snowmass and 2nd in Breckenridge. A shoulder injury during practice resulted in a separated AC joint and an impressive 6th place, keeping him ahead of one of his toughest competitors, Gus Kenworthy. Aaron was also honored by being named as the coaches pick.
Aaron has been training hard for another shot at the Olympics, starting the year off with a spring camp in Mammoth. He then spent three weeks this summer in Oregon at Mount Hood. After a couple of weeks off, Aaron flew down to New Zealand and did a 10-day camp before competing in the World Cup event at Cardrona. After the World Cup competition, Aaron went back home for a couple of weeks before heading out to Switzerland. That training has paid off and we look forward to cheering Aaron on at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang will also be the second Olympics for Crested Butte local and slalom skier David Chodounsky. David began skiing at the young age of two and trained alongside Lindsay Vonn, both who were coached by Erich Sailer. Though he crashed out at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he has some notable career highlights such as a fourth-place finish at Val d’Isere, France in December 2015 and a 2013 fifth-place at a city event in Moscow. David’s family moved to Crested Butte in 1995 so that he could pursue his passion for skiing. David graduated from the Crested Butte Academy in 2003 and attended Dartmouth College and skied on the Dartmouth College Ski Team.
We look forward to cheering on both Crested Butte locals, Aaron Blunck and David Chodounsky, as they represent Team USA and compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang!
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