Washington's Top Winter Athletes Set Their Sights on 2022 Olympics

written by James Sinks

In YouTube footage from a decade ago, teen and pre-teen girls on skis zigzag through trees, jump off ledges, and showboat their way down Oregon’s snow-covered Mount Hood. Some of them even go backwards.

And in the middle of it all, a grinning Katie Hensien mugs for the camera between breakneck ski runs, with windburned cheeks and brown hair poking out from under her helmet.

The video is called, aptly enough, “Girls Who Ski Better Than You.”

For Hensien, a native of Redmond, the sentiment was accurate then, and it’s an understatement now. At age 22, she’s been named to one of the coveted twenty slots for women on the 2021-22 U.S. Alpine Ski Team. It’s her fifth straight year qualifying for the nation’s squad.

Since she started competing at age 6, after her parents unknowingly enrolled her in a downhill skiing club, Hensien dreamed about speeding onto the medal stand at the Olympics. It’s in her sights now: this winter, the 2019 World Junior Team Event Silver Medalist is in the mix to secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic team competing in February in Beijing. She’s also aiming for a top-30 world ranking.

Her specialties are the so-called “technical” disciplines of slalom and giant slalom, which combine speed and precise turns.

To qualify for the Olympics squad, athletes hopscotch to mountains around the globe and must hit certain marks by January, such as top finishes and accumulated race rankings. There is a limit of eleven women and eleven men skiers on the Olympic squad, across all of the Alpine events, which include downhill and slalom.

World class skiers fly down the slopes at paces that would earn you a speeding ticket on the interstate— approaching 80 miles an hour in some terrain—and the difference between winning and not medaling can be hundredths of a single second.

“I think a unique trait you need to become a ski racer is to be an adrenaline junkie. You need to be in the right state of mind to be okay with not being okay—if that makes sense,” Hensien said. “One small mistake could make or break your day. That’s both the best and worst thing about this sport.”

The women’s U.S. Alpine team is elite company, led by Colorado’s Mikaela Shiffrin, already a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Hensien said it’s an honor and also motivating to be among such accomplished teammates on the U.S. team—knowing she can’t be intimidated into thinking she can’t outrace them. “Definitely a hard task,” she said, “but not impossible.”

So how does she do it?

“Pushing my limits and challenging myself to become better each day. Some days I am inspired by accomplishing something I haven’t before, other days it may simply be one great turn.”

For Hensien, pushing her limits doesn’t stop at the base of the mountain. When she’s not training at the U.S. Ski team headquarters in Park City, Utah, she’s a senior at the University of Denver, where she is double majoring in computer science and business with a minor in innovation and entrepreneurship. (Her skis are never far away—she’s also on the college’s highly ranked ski team.)

“I think once I’m done with my career in ski racing, I hope to start my own company one day—I am definitely an entrepreneur and inventor. I’m not sure what the company will do yet, but I’ve always been creative and love to design and improve products.”

She already has a penchant for self-marketing. Her personal website is called “Gravity Girl.”

“Competing at the highest level while also being a full-time student definitely keeps things interesting,” she said. “But it has also taught me how to manage my time, stay disciplined and always believe in myself, and finally not let myself worry about what everyone else is doing. At the end of the day, it’s what I’m doing to make myself better. And I’ve learned there are no short cuts.”

Her daily in-season routine involves waking up at 5 a.m., a workout, eight to ten runs on the mountain, another workout and then studying. And with the Olympics looming, she’s training and competing as hard as she ever has—and keeping her mental and emotional footing, sometimes with the counsel of a sports psychologist during extended stays in Europe.

And she hasn’t forgotten how she got here. Today, you’re more likely to stumble across videos of her competing around the world, but it wasn’t long ago that she was an uncertain teenager trying to find her confidence, like she was in the days of “Girls Who Ski Better than You.”

That video came from the 2011 debut of a girls-only ski camp organized by Keely Kelleher, a former U.S. Ski Team member. Hensien was an eager 11-year old camper, Kelleher recalled. “I could tell from the beginning that she had a spirited fire within her for skiing and even more enjoyed the process of improvement,” she said.

“She genuinely loves the sport of skiing and is not afraid to take risks in her racing. I feel like that isn’t something you can teach a ski racer,” Kelleher says. “I always believed Katie would rise to the challenge of our sport and I am so proud to see that she has made it to the top.”

Hensien still goes to Keely’s Ski Camps. Only now, she is one of the coaches.

“I love giving back to the communities that have helped me get to where I am today,” Hensien says. “I hope to inspire them like I was.”

Age: 22 / U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team: Alpine / Years: 5 (Since 2018) / Events: Slalom, Giant Slalom / Current residence: Denver and Park City, Utah / Best finish: Silver Medal, 2019 Junior World Cup

Age: 20 / U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team: Cross Country, since 2020 / Born: Winthrop / Current residence: Salt Lake City / Best finish: 2020 Junior World Championship Team Relay Silver Medalist

→ What are your goals for 2021-22? The next five years?

This season I will be racing my first World Cups, so one of my big goals is to do the best I can in those. I also hope to reach the podium at U.S. Nationals and help the University of Utah win at the NCAA championships.

→ Who or what is your inspiration/motivation?

Trying to be the best I can be at something. The idea of pushing my limits and trying to find ways to improve keeps me motivated for sure, but I think it’s also important for me to take the time to enjoy just being outside and appreciate the things I get to experience and places I get to travel.

→ What is your favorite event?

10K Skate

→ Are there other athletes in your family?

My mom was a professional skier and continues to be quite phenomenal at any and all endurance sports. My sister is a skier and my dad was an avid climber, skier and biker.

→ What have you learned about yourself from being an athlete?

There are only certain things you can control, and you can waste so much time if you stress about the things you can’t. I sometimes have a very hard time being flexible with my training and find myself overthinking when things don’t go perfectly.

→ Hobbies?

I’m a big fan of going out to eat and trying different restaurants, which I guess could count as a hobby. A very expensive one.

→ What makes you laugh?

My friends, family and a good Instagram reel. I’m quite lucky to have a lot of very funny people in my life!

Age: 18 / U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team: Freestyle, since 2021 / Born: Seattle / Current residence: Park City, Utah / Best finish: Third overall on North American (NorAm) Tour, 2020

→ What are your goals for 2021-22? The next five years?

Podium in the NorAm tour and hopefully qualify for a World Cup start. My future plans are ideally to be skiing the World Cup with all of the athletes I have dreamed of skiing with and meeting. The Olympics is another thing I hope to reach someday.

→ Who or what is your inspiration?

My two older sisters are both on the national team and my younger brother strives to be. They always show me how much work they put in and push me to do the same and remind me to always bring my all. Each of us work hard to hopefully make the Olympics one day and maybe even go together.

→ What have you learned about yourself from being an athlete?

I have learned that being an athlete can be really hard on myself. Sometimes it’s hard for me to make sure I’m not overworking or thinking for myself and keeping healthy mentally. However, I have also learned how athletic I can be and how much I am able to accomplish when I put my mind to it.

→ Hobbies?

I love waterskiing and basically doing any other sports behind the boat.

→ Where do you envision yourself in ten years?

In ten years, I envision myself still skiing of course and hopefully working for the Olympics and doing well in world tours.

→ What makes you laugh?

Almost anything! I find myself just enjoying the company of many people and their jokes and fun.