Two Lawrenceburg skiers will be Indiana representatives on the U.S. team for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Nick Goepper, 27, a two-time medalist, was selected by U.S. Ski & Snowboard in slopestyle and big air. Justin Schoenfeld, 23, made his first Olympic team in freestyle aerials.
Both grew up skiing at Perfect North Slopes, about 30 miles west of Cincinnati in southern Indiana.
Goepper won a slopestyle bronze medal at Sochi, Russia, in 2014 and silver at PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018.
He now trains in Park City, Utah, on a homemade skip ramp and trampoline. Goepper has won a record four slopestyle gold medals at the X Games.
Alex Hall, Colby Stevenson and Mac Forehand secured the top three spots on the Olympic slopestyle team. Goepper made it via coaches’ decision.
“I feel very similar to how I did going into the last two Olympics,” Goepper told TeamUSA.org. “I had the tricks to win, and I believe I have the tricks to win this time around.
“It is really down to mindset and focus. I have that couple Olympics-worth of experience now. So I see this as lining up to be a really good month.”
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He came close to qualifying for an automatic spot in the recent U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Goepper led after one run, and if he had stayed on top he would have clinched the Olympic spot. Instead, he finished second.
After bronze and silver, all that is left for him is gold.
Goepper could become the first native Hoosier to medal at three Olympics in more than a century. Lafayette’s Ray Ewry won eight golds in the standing jumps in the 1900, 1904 and 1908 summer Olympics.
“The first time at the Olympics, your brain is going crazy, there is so much going on and you are just a ball of electricity: so excited, anxious, nervous,” Goepper told TeamUSA.org. “Everything is so new and cool and awesome. The second time, like only half of your brain feels that way. You know what is going to happen and you are less overwhelmed by everything around you.
“So this time, I am going to be feeling even less stress. I maturely know what to do now, what’s best for me, and not get thrown off by all the craziness. It’s a good place to be.”
Schoenfeld has been on the U.S. Ski Team since 2019.
In February 2020, he ended a four-year U.S. men’s aerials drought with a World Cup victory in Belarus. His hobbies include fly fishing, playing guitar and golfing. He also has a private pilot’s license.
Olympic debut of big air will be at the Big Air Shougang venue Feb. 7-9. Slopestyle is at Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park from Feb. 13-15.
Aerials qualifying is Feb. 15, followed by finals Feb. 16.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
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