Parkite Troy Podmilsak returns with two gold medals from Junior World Championships

17-year-old Parkite and skiing prodigy Troy Podmilsak is coming off an impressive 2021-22 season. As the youngest member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team for slopestyle and big air, Podmilsak won both the slopestyle and big air at Junior Worlds in Leysin, Switzerland, earning himself a spot in the World Cup slopestyle and big air event for the 2022-23 season. Photo: Scott Podmilsak.

PARK CITY, Utah — 17-year-old Parkite and skiing prodigy Troy Podmilsak is coming off an impressive 2021-22 season. As the youngest member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team for slope style and big air, Podmilsak won both the slope style and big air at Junior Worlds in Leysin, Switzerland, earning himself a spot in the World Cup slope style and big air event for the 2022-23 season.

“I just got back from Europe a few days ago, and it was a really good trip. I was competing at the junior worlds and was over there for about 16 days skiing. You know, it was really fun. It was a really cool experience and I was in a cool place called Leysin in Switzerland. It was really cooI, I had a lot of friends there with the US team, and I ended up winning both events,” Podmilsak said.

“It’s super exciting because all the people on the team are basically like older brothers to me. It’s almost like I have a whole family and that I’m the youngest sibling,” Podmilsak continued. 

With six first-place finishes and three second-place finishes, Podmilsak absolutely dominated the competition and highlighted his season with gold medals in both the slope style and big air events at the Junior World Cup.

After his big air win where he secured gold with a switch double misty 1620 and a triple cork mute 1800, Podmilsak then went onto win a second in the slope style despite encountering an injury. While Podmilsak may consider the first gold to be a better story, remarkably he was able to win the slope style with only three warm up runs and having to nurse an injury that occurred during practice and required medical attention.

 

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“It was actually really amazing because there was a better story behind the first gold,” Podmilsak explained. “I was very proud of the big air, just because I felt like I was skiing my best. But on the second gold for slope style, it was kind of a bad story. I’d gotten injured on the third practice and I had to pull out of the rest of practice with like an hour left. I wasn’t sure if I was going to ski or not but I ended up just risking it, pulled out of practice, did my two contest runs and luckily it worked out. It was just crazy going from thinking I wasn’t going to be able to compete to win it.”

“It just proves to myself that all the hard work has been paying off and that I just need to keep working hard, and eventually, I’ll get to that top top tier level where I’ll be able to beat those pros,” Podmilsak continued.

While Podmilsak is certainly proud of his accomplishments and looking forward to continuing to develop his abilities, he’s grateful for an opportunity to recover, rest and just “be a kid” for a while.

“Just taking a break from skiing honestly. I love skiing, but you need balance in life. So I’m looking forward to just having fun, being a kid, relaxing a little bit, having time with my family and friends and just being a kid,” Podmilsak said.

After his time off, Podmilsak will prepare to compete in World Cup (pro tour) slope style and big air events next year. He also has his eyes set on one day winning the X-Games, Olympics, World Championship, and the World Cup Circuit.