CORTINA D'AMEZZO, Italy -- Canby High grad Jackie Wiles finished third in the downhill Saturday, qualifying her for a spot on the Olympic team headed to PyeongChang.
The race was won in spectacular fashion by Linsdesy Vonn, with Wiles .93 seconds behind. This was Wiles' first podium of the year and second in world competition.
Wiles was on course to finish second — trailing Vonn by just 0.30 seconds at the penultimate checkpoint — but then drifted too wide on a turn and lost a big chunk of time.
The two on the podium together is fitting. Wiles is the first skier to be a protege of a Vonn foundation to assist up and coming skiers.
“She’s done a lot for my career and she gave me an amazing course report and pumped me up through the radio before my run,” Wiles said. “I’m really grateful she’s such a great friend and role model I have to learn from.”
The Road to South Korea
Jackie Wiles first put on skis at age two and started racing at age 5. Her hobbies include bicycling, motorcycling and knitting. She has two black labs Jezzy and Jasmine. She was the first ambassador for the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, which helps skiers with competition expenses.
"Train like you are number two, compete like you are number one!"
Height: 5-8
Weight: 135
DOB: 7/13/1992
Birthplace: Portland, Ore.
Hometown: Aurora, Ore.
High School: Canby High School 2010
College: Westminster College
Team/Club: White Pass Ski Club
Olympic Experience
Olympian (2014)
Sochi 2014, 26th (downhill)
World Championship Experience
Most Recent: 2018 - 3rd, downhill, Cortina d'Ampezzo,
Years of Participation: 2015, 2017
Top Finish: 3rd - 2017, 2018
Sources: Team USA and NBC Sports