Josie Johnson atop the podium for the Women's U16 Ski jumping Jr. National Championships, masked and socially distanced. Photo: Stacey Border (facebook)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colorado. — Josie Johnson (14), born and raised in Park City, won the U16, Women’s Jr. National Champion title on Thursday.

“I was very excited about my second jump, I really enjoyed it and everyone was super supportive of me, it was awesome,” said Johnson of her winning performance on the first day of individual competition.

On Friday, this versatile athlete decided at the last minute to compete in the Team Nordic Combined, which isn’t even her discipline, essentially simply because she could. “There was a racer who was from a different state who needed a partner and I wanted to help her out. It was not fun for me in the middle of the cross country part but afterwards I felt good and strong,” Johnson said.

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Then, on the third consecutive day of the event, she was the lone female ski jumper to make it into the final four in the elimination, bracket-style Ski Jumping against all the competitors, including nordic combined, men, women, and U20 athletes.

“It was great, I really liked the elimination jumps because it kind of took the pressure off of everybody and everyone just got to have a lot of fun,” she said.

Johnson, who has been a member of the Park City Ski and Snowboard Nordic Team for seven years, is entering her first year at the Winter Sports School. She was crestfallen when she wasn’t named to the Jr. Championship competition team two years ago. Still, her career trajectory arc now serves to inspire younger teammates who see that she persevered – and she won.

Stacey and Scott Johnson, Josie’s proud mom and dad, have supported her passion for flying far, which has seen her compete in Illinois, Alaska and Canada. The Johnsons were in Steamboat as volunteers last week, witnessing their daughter’s consistent three-day display of talent at this Jr. Nationals.

When Josie isn’t flying down hills with skis on her feet, she’s flying around those hills – as a mountain bike competitor.

The 2021 USA Nordic Jr. Championships brought together athletes from Alaska, Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Wisconsin, New York, Minnesota, Michigan and Utah. COVID cancelled the rotating-host event in 2020. In 2019 it was in Park City, and in 2022 it’s scheduled to be in Lake Placid, NY.