Local freestyle skiers Alex Ferreira and Hanna Faulhaber and cross-country skier Hailey Swirbul competed in the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing last month.<\/p>\n
Ferreira, who grew up in Aspen, took home a bronze medal for Team USA in the mens ski halfpipe.<\/p>\n
To have people rooting for me that I dont know is bigger than my wildest dreams, said Ferreira, 27. Bringing home a medal is like a cherry on top, in my eyes.<\/p>\n
In 2018, he won silver in his first Olympic appearance.<\/p>\n
Mike Dawson<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
U.S. Ski & Snowboard<\/p>\n
Basalt resident and Olympic rookie Hanna Faulhaber finished sixth in the womens halfpipe. The 17-year-old has been making waves skiing the superpipe over the past year, starting with her fourth-place finish at the world championships last spring in Aspen.<\/p>\n
In December, Faulhaber earned her first major podium, finishing third at the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain. She won bronze in her X Games debut in January.<\/p>\n
All of the podiums that I had throughout the season were just shocking, and I dont think that any of them have really hit me yet, she said. Honestly, Im just happy with how I skied and I gave it my all.<\/p>\n
Ryan Escandon<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
U.S. Ski & Snowboard<\/p>\n
El Jebel resident Hailey Swirbul made her Olympic debut last month in three cross-country ski events. The 23-year-old led the first leg of the course on the U.S. womens 4x5-kilometer relay team, which finished sixth. Swirbul's teammates were Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan and Novie McCabe.<\/p>\n
In Swirbuls first two events, she finished 32nd out of 98 in the womens 10-km classic and 40th out of 62 in the 7.5-km + 7.5-km skiathlon.<\/p>\n
A medal was way out of reach for me this year unless it was in a relay-team event, where our team actually did have a shot, she said. Im not leaving disappointed in my efforts or my results.<\/p>\n
Ryan Escandon<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
U.S. Ski & Snowboard<\/p>\n
Aspen Public Radio talked with Ferreira, Faulhaber and Swirbul about their experience competing in the Winter Olympics and growing up skiing with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club.<\/p>\n
Listen to the conversation above.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See the original post: <\/p>\n
'Bigger than my wildest dreams': Three local athletes share their experience skiing at the Winter Olympics - Aspen Public Radio<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Local freestyle skiers Alex Ferreira and Hanna Faulhaber and cross-country skier Hailey Swirbul competed in the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing last month. Ferreira, who grew up in Aspen, took home a bronze medal for Team USA in the mens ski halfpipe. To have people rooting for me that I dont know is bigger than my wildest dreams, said Ferreira, 27. Continue reading