American halfpipe skier who didn't perform a single trick gamed the system to qualify for the Olympics while representing Hungary
- Elizabeth Swaney competed in the ladies' ski halfpipe on Monday despite being unable to land any real tricks.
- Swaney qualified for the Olympics through a loophole of sorts - athletes were required a number of top-30 finishes, so she would enter competitions with less than 30 athletes in the field, thus assuring the requirement would be met.
- Swaney knows she isn't on the same level as the top athletes in the competition, but hopes her Olympic campaign will inspire others to take up the sport.
Elizabeth Swaney can't land a trick beyond a simple 180 in the halfpipe, but that didn't stop her from becoming an Olympic athlete.
On Monday, Swaney competed in the ladies' ski halfpipe, coming in last place with a high score of 31.4 after two runs down the halfpipe.
With her apparent lack of ability, Swaney's qualification for the Olympics came more through attendance than performance.
Olympic athletes must record a number of top-30 finishes in order to qualify to compete in halfpipe at the games, but with very few women competing in the event in the first place, Swaney was able to enter into competitions with less than 30 competitors to satisfy the requirement.
As Jason Blevins at the Denver Post notes, Swaney traveled the globe exploiting this rule, and tallying points towards her eventual Olympic debut.
"The field is not that deep in the women's pipe and she went to every World Cup, where there were only 24, 25, or 28 women," said longtime FIS ski halfpipe and slopestyle judge Steele Spence. "She would compete in them consistently over the last couple years and sometimes girls would crash so she would not end up dead last."
Swaney is American and originally competed for her mother's native Venezuela. But later, she switched to representing Hungary, citing her grandparents' heritage. Swaney has competed since 2013, but still hasn't developed much of an aerial routine. She has gotten exceedingly proficient at staying upright through her runs - a trait that has helped her finish ahead of last place in a few of her competitions.
Take a look at the height she was getting during her Olympic runs.
That is the apex of her jump. You can watch the entirety of her run here.
According to Blevins, some of Swaney's competitors are less than enthused by her entrance in the Olympics. But there are others that respect her commitment to qualification. "If you are going to put in the time and effort to be here, then you deserve to be here as much as I do," said Canadian Cassie Sharpe.
Swaney is far from the only athlete at the Winter Olympics that's far off the pace of the world class athletes at the top of their sport. Cross-country skier German Madrazo finished his race almost a half hour after champion Dario Cologna claimed his gold medal.
For her part, Swaney doesn't consider herself in the same league as her fellow athletes in terms of skill, but rather aims to spread a love of freestyle skiing to a wider audience.
"I really hope to inspire others in Hungary to take up freestyle skiing and I hope that contributes to a greater number of people out there freestyle skiing," she said before her final practice on Sunday.