Kiley McKinnon's rise to success in aerals began back in 2015 when she scored her first world cup podium at the season opener in Beijing. She never looked back, landing on the podium four more times and jumping to a silver medal at the 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships. McKinnon's consistent jumping allowed her to take home the World Cup overall title at the end of the season. She captured a handful of top-10 finished during the 2016 season, including another podium in Beijing. 2017 was another successful year for McKinnon who landed a second place finish on home snow at the Visa Freestyle International and an impressive fourth place finish at the FIS Freestyle World Championships.

Q: What was your earliest memory of being on snow?
A: I started skiing when I was about three years old. My earliest memories on snow were with my family. I spent every weekend skiing in Vermont growing up. I can specifically remember learning how to ski with my dad. He was holding onto me with the harness and I yelled at him to take it off me so I could ski on my own. He took it off and I skied away. I don't think he ever put me on the harness again! 

Q: What are your pre-competition rituals?
A: My pre-competition ritual is listening to the same song over and over again with my teammate Ashley Caldwell in our room before getting ready to jump. The song changes depending on what we are into that season, but once we pick it it becomes our song for the year.