YOUR AD HERE »

4 SSCV park and pipe snowboarders are making a splash in the World Cup — and vying for 2026 Winter Olympic spots

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail's Hahna Norman competes in the women's Snowboard Big Air qualifying round during the FIS Snowboard & Freeski World Cup 2024 at the Shougang Park in Beijing on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
Andy Wong/AP photo

Thanks to a freshly torn ACL, Hahna Norman was forced to watch the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics from her couch.

“I just remember thinking, ‘wow, I just want to give everything I have to be at the next one,'” the 20-year-old Ski and Snowboard Club Vail snowboarder said earlier this week. After making a splash at early-season World Cups, Norman and her SSCV park and pipe teammates — Lily Dhawornvej, Oliver Martin and Brooklyn DePriest — are well-positioned for the 2026 Olympic cycle. All four will compete at the first U.S. Ski Team Olympic qualifier at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and the Visa Big Air in Aspen this week.

“They’ve been crushing,” SSCV freeski and snowboard program director Chris Laske said. “They’re hungry — they want it really bad.”



Dhawornvej was 13th in her World Cup debut in the Beijing big air on Dec. 1 and took seventh in the event in Klagenfurt on Jan. 5. Two weeks ago in Laax, Switzerland, she qualified sixth in slopestyle before ultimately finishing eighth.

“I definitely try to not overthink these comps. Just try to have fun and you’re going to do good,” the 15-year-old answered when asked how she’s done so well on the top international stage. “I’ve just been given some pretty great opportunities to travel to all these places and it’s been cool.”

Support Local Journalism




Dhawornvej — who was born in Littleton and competed for Team Summit until two years ago — finished fifth and sixth in the slopestyle and big air competitions at the 2024 FIS World Junior Championships in Livigno. Still, she said neither the Olympics or the World Cup were on her radar coming into this season.

“Now that they are, I’m definitely going to pull some tricks out of my bag,” she said. Dhawornvej added four new tricks over the off-season and has been sharpening her back and cab 900s this year. She credited U.S. Ski Team resources for her rapid improvement, including an October camp she attended in Stubai, Austria.

“I didn’t land a bunch of tricks there, but I feel like I was able to put some stepping stones with my other tricks that I got later on,” Dhawornvej said.

Lily Dhawornjev placed third in the womens snowboard knuckle huck final at the 2025 X Games Aspen at Buttermilk in Aspen, CO.
Trevor Brown Jr./X Games

“The awesome thing about Lily is that when she figures out a trick, she locks it in so quick and it stays locked in,” Laske added. “She’s always been a consistent rider. That being said, she didn’t have the big tricks last year. But the girl has attended every camp we’ve offered and the U.S. team has offered and she has just grinded.” 

Norman has also patiently executed her toil. She dealt with a series of injuries after her World Cup debut in Chur in 2021: there was the aforementioned ACL tear in the 2022 season and a broken ankle last winter.

“I think everything has made me appreciate snowboarding more because I’ve had it taken away,” she said. “I also think it’s given me more of a work ethic. Each time I’ve had those injuries, it’s been pretty long recoveries. So, it just kind of makes me want it and work for it a bit more.”

Norman also didn’t know if World Cup starts would be in the cards, but after injuries knocked out a couple higher-ranked U.S. starters, she squeezed in. Norman finished 11th in the big air in her return to Chur on Oct. 19 and was 17th in Beijing on Dec. 1. She kicked off 2025 with a 20th in the Laax slopestyle on Jan. 18. Still, she wasn’t satisfied.

“I like to hold myself to a pretty high standard, so each competition I definitely wanted a little more out of,” she said. “But when I look back at the season I had last year and what I had to come back to, I’d say I’m pretty happy with where I’m going.”

The U.S. will select four men and women for its 2026 Olympic park and pipe squad. While the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen is the first Olympic qualifier, Laske said it’s unknown at this point how many more there will be — or when they will be. Typically, the U.S. has used three World Cups, all within an Olympic year, to pick the team, he said.

“But this year they’re saying the budget is an issue, so they’re spreading it out,” Laske said. “That’s why we’ve — for the first time I’ve ever seen — had a World Cup qualifier in the year previous to the Olympics.”

The situation puts a premium on 2025-26 World Cup starts.

“You’re playing a game,” Laske continued, adding that some athletes may strategically defer spring World Cup starts this year in order to earn automatic starts for next via the NorAm Rev Tour series. “Sometimes at international World Cups we (the U.S.) only have four spots, so it’s typically the top four in points and no one else gets to compete. But if you have your own personal spot, it doesn’t matter — you get to compete.”

Dhawornvej and Norman are currently third and fourth on the national list. Laske said it’s likely one or both could be in Milano Cortina, Italy in 2026.

“For the men, it’s a battle,” he contrasted.

Oliver Martin is one of two athletes in the world who can land a 2160. The 16-year-old Ski and Snowboard Club Vail snowboarder can pull off the trick in both directions.
Andy Wong/AP photo

Martin has impressed the U.S. coaches with his big air prowess. The 16-year-old is one of two athletes in the world who can land a 2160, Laske said. In Klagenfurt, Martin qualified third but injured himself in the practice run prior to finals and was unable to compete.

“He could have easily been on the podium if not won that event with the two tricks he was going to throw,” Laske said.

DePriest earned World Cup starts this year on account of his 2024 world junior title. His best result this season came in Laax, where he qualified fourth en route to a 24th-place slopestyle finish. Laske said the 18-year-old’s mental game has taken a big step forward.

Brooklyn Depriest, shown competing at the Youth Olympic Games in 2024, won the slopestyle gold medal at the FIS Snowboard Junior World Championship last March.
Jonathan Nackstrand/OIS via AP

“He’s just been riding with confidence,” the coach said. “And he’s really put in work on his rail game, trying to put harder lines in. That, combined with his already pretty solid jump game, has really helped a lot. Hoping to see him get into some of these finals, especially this next one.”

The U.S. Grand Prix begins Thursday in Aspen with freeski qualifications. The snowboard slopestyle qualifications start Friday, with finals on Sunday. The big air competition runs from Feb. 3-6.

“The goal is definitely just to make it to finals,” Dhawornvej said. “But I’m just trying to do the best that I can (and) get some good results.”

Along with Norman, Martin, DePriest and Dhawornvej, fellow SSCV athlete Will Solomon is guaranteed to start. Hayden Tyler and Dhawornvej’s brother, Caleb, might also get a chance to compete in Aspen, Laske said.

“I feel like I can talk to him about anything snowboarding and I definitely look up to him as a rider,” Lily Dhawornvej said of her brother. “He has a sick style and is just a really good snowboarder in general.”

Aspen represents the first step for Norman in accomplishing her main goal this season: positioning herself to make the Olympics.

“When you’re competing in snowboarding, there’s a lot of pressure around the Olympics, which seem like the end game,” she said. “It’s essentially every competitive snowboarders’ goal and with how few spots there are it becomes really competitive really quick.”

Considering where she was in 2022, fighting for one of those spots is extra exhilirating.

“First of all, to be up in the running is quite a neat feeling,” she said. “The chances are good but obviously never guaranteed. You’re really never guaranteed an Olympic spot until you’re on a plane to the Olympics.”


Support Local Journalism