PCHS’s Grif Briley wins Spain’s U18 SkiMo World Championships

Park City's Griffin Briley wins World Championships in Skimo for U18 in Spain. Photo: Courtesy of Pete Stoughton.

SPAIN — Griffin Briley is making a name for himself in the world of skimo before skimo has even had a chance to make a name for itself in the world.

On Saturday in Spain at the World Championships he placed:

1. 1st in the Individual event
2. 2nd in the Vertical event
3. 3rd in the Sprint event

SkiMo athletes race up a mountain to then turn quickly around and race back down. The sport is set to make its Winter Olympic debut in three years in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

Briley’s Park City Ski and Snowboard (PCSS) Coach Pete Stoughton was in Park City teaching at Treasure Mountain Jr. High while the Park City High Schooler was in Europe competing. Stoughton told TownLift, “Grif is a World Champion because of his character first, he’s a true champion of character. He congratulates every racer at the end of his races which makes his biggest podium his leadership and teamwork.”

Briley’s USA SkiMo National Team teammate and PCSS Co-Coach Adam Loomis was at the Utah Olympic Park on Saturday organizing and overseeing a national level Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined competition. He was proud of his teammate when he learned of the European results and told TownLift, “This is great news for Grif, he’s worked hard and really deserves to end this season on top.”