Chagrin Falls Skier Derek Krueger Headed to Olympics

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Derek Krueger, a 22-year-old freestyle skier from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, has earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy. Krueger will compete in the aerials event, along with fellow Ohio athletes Connor Curran and Quinn Dehlinger. The aerials competition involves skiers launching off jumps and performing multiple flips and twists before landing on a steep slope.

Why it matters

Krueger's selection to the U.S. Olympic team represents a major accomplishment for a young athlete from Ohio, a state not typically known for producing top-tier winter sports competitors. His journey to the Olympics highlights the dedication and hard work required to reach the pinnacle of freestyle skiing.

The details

Krueger began specializing in aerials through the Park City Ski & Snowboard elite development program before joining the U.S. Ski & Snowboard's inaugural aerials development camp in 2020. There, he refined his foundational tricks and advanced to high-difficulty maneuvers, including multi-flip, multi-twist jumps. Krueger placed third at the 2022 U.S. Championships and has recorded several top-10 finishes on the World Cup circuit, including a career-best fourth-place result earlier this winter in Lake Placid, New York.

• Krueger will compete in the aerials preliminaries around February 17, 2026.
• The aerials finals are expected to take place later in the 2026 Winter Olympics competition.

What’s next

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