The International Olympic committee announced Wednesday afternoon that halfpipe skiing and women's ski jumping – two events dominated by American athletes – will be included in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. A decision for slopestyle skiing and snowboarding and the alpine team event will be made in late May.
“The IOC's decision to include these new sports in the 2014 Olympics has reach and relevance to millions of youth around the world,” said Andrew Judelson, executive vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. “Kids are in halfpipes participating in these sports every day and now this decision gives them the opportunity to dream big – to compete on the world's largest stage. This has an incredibly positive impact on the growth of our new U.S. Freeskiing brand to secure new partners and drive revenue by giving marketers a captivated and scalable audience to communicate their messages.”
Two leading U.S. athletes said the decision marked a pivotal moment for their sports and careers.
“This is a great moment for freeskiing,” said Simon Dumont, seven-time X Games halfpipe medalist. “I feel honored to be considered to be in the same class as an Olympic athlete. It’s exciting to be recognized as an Olympic caliber sport.”
“I am so thrilled that the IOC decided to include halfpipe skiing in the 2014 Games in Sochi,” added Jen Hudak, 2010 X Games halfpipe champion and silver halfpipe 2011 World Champion. “The level of the sport is high, the interest in it is even higher, the Olympics provide us with the ultimate stage to show our sport to the world!”
