Freestyle mogul skier George McQuinn of Durango won’t be competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
McQuinn, 23, found out this week that he wasn’t selected for one of Team USA’s four spots on its men’s freestyle moguls team.
“I just barely ended up not making the team,” McQuinn said. “Although I had the highest-ranking spot at Deer Valley, I didn’t have enough points the last two seasons to back it up.”
Because COVID limited the number of competitions last season, results from the past three seasons, instead of just the past two, were used to decide Team USA’s members.
McQuinn came on strong at the end of last year and the start of this season in national and international competitions. He finished second at last year’s national championship and won two International Ski Federation moguls competitions in Winter Park earlier this season, earning him spots at World Cup events in Mont Tremblant, Canada, and in Deer Valley, Utah.
McQuinn finished 29th and 19th in Canada. He then made his first World Cup super final in Deer Valley, and was the only American male to do so. After qualifying third for Deer Valley’s super final, however, McQuinn suffered a scary crash in the finals and was briefly knocked unconscious. He ended up placing sixth in Deer Valley but was unable to compete in the second World Cup event the next day at the mountain.
“I’m doing well. I’m definitely fortunate. My helmet saved me, for sure,” said McQuinn, who skied for fun on Thursday. “Luckily the doctors cleared me. I’m just taking it easy, hanging out, enjoying life and waiting for the next stuff.”
With his Olympic dream dashed, McQuinn said he’s “hanging in limbo, figuring out what to do.”
“I’m thinking the next Olympics are out of the cards,” but there’s not telling,“ he said.
McQuinn, however, was happy with his season and the run he put together to try and score an Olympic spot.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I feel like I put my best foot forward. I don’t feel I could have done better or tried harder. The disappointment is there; it was a lifelong dream. But what else can you do? At the end of the day, it’s not up to you. It’s a judges sport.”
Tess Johnson of Vail, who is No. 5 in this year’s World Cup standings, also was left off Team USA’s women’s team.
