Athlete Bios
Freestyle Skiing- Moguls
USA's Kearney fell short in 2006
Last Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010 | 12:59 PM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
Hannah Kearney is easily spotted during competition, with her dirty-blonde hair in braids trailing down her back. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)Hannah Kearney, a top American moguls skier, understands there are no guarantees.
After she won the world championships in 2005, she had major buzz leading into the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, with many predicting she would win a gold medal at age 19.
All the accolades disappeared quickly when Kearney did not land her first jump in the qualification round. She placed 22nd, ending her Olympic hopes.
"It was heartbreaking," Kearney, now 22, told Team USA's website. "I had a disastrous result, and I didn't have fun. I didn't enjoy it."
More trouble was around the corner, as Kearney tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the 2006-07 season and sustained a lingering concussion during 2007-08.
Kearney was forced to take extended time away from skiing, to heal physically and recover mentally. She took time to have some fun, like spending time at home in Vermont with her family, watching her beloved Boston Red Sox and adopting a dog named Lola.
The break renewed her body and refreshed her spirit.
"I was really burned out at that point," Kearney said. "I had never had a chance to be at home or be a teenager. I made the ski team when I was still in high school. So I had no control over the path. That was it."
Kearney came back to skiing for the 2008-09 season and regained her winning form. She won the World Cup moguls title, thanks to six podium finishes in the nine events. She took bronze in the dual moguls and moguls in the 2009 world championships.
Rounding into form for the Vancouver Games means a lot to Kearney. She is half-Canadian; her mother, Jill, is from Montreal.
But another shot at the Olympics could help her erase what she called the disaster of Turin.
"I'm prepared to just enjoy it and ski to my best abilities," Kearney said.
Kearney is easily spotted during competition, with her dirty-blonde hair in braids trailing down her back. But she wanted to prove her braids were not part of a superstitious bent.
She competed during the 2008-09 season without them - for one event - and did well. She went back to the braids, simply because it is comfortable to wear her hair that way under the ski helmet.
