Bohonnon first started skiing when he was about one and a half years old under parents who insisted that all their children learn to ski. After a stint in the alpine gates, he found his true calling: freestyle aerials.
The 2012 season was a breakout year for Bohonnon, proving his strength on the aerials circuit. Four NorAm podiums led to a career-high third-place ranking. A bronze medal at the National Championships topped it off on a high note. 2013 wasn't much different, and lead the way to a phenomenal 2014 season when Mac earned a second-place finish in Val St. Come. That game-changing result punched his ticket to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Competing against athletes nearly twice his age, Bohonnon produced stellar jump after jump and earned a fifth-place finish at his first Olympic berth.
Goals for the 2014-2015 season include performing a new trick on snow (which is top secret) and winning world championships in Kreischberg, Austria.
ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT
Name: Mac Bohonnon
Sport: Freestyle Aerials
How/when did you decide you wanted to compete: I started competing in freestyle when I was six years old. I hated wearing a GS suit and loved building jumps in my backyard with my brother. Having a trampoline probably didn't help either.
Biggest accomplishment in your career so far: It is hard to say anything other than being a part of the U.S. Olympic Team and competing as well as I did in Sochi. Though, I still think it is really cool that I was named one of the top 20 skiers under 18 by Powder Magazine.
Favorite moment from Sochi: My favorite moment from Sochi was, without a doubt, walking into Opening Ceremonies linked arms with my two teammates, Emily and Ashley. That was the moment that the Olympics really came alive to me; it is a moment I will never forget.
Goals for next season: My goals for next season are to perform a new trick on snow, which is code 7 top secret, and to win World Champs in Kreischberg, Austria. I mostly hope to keep having fun and stay healthy.
Favorite snow destination: It’s gotta be Bromley Mountain, VT.
Favorite non-snow destination: It's hard to beat Nantucket.
Favorite candy: Enstrum's almond toffee.
If you weren't a professional athlete what would you be: I would probably be a frustrated student in Law school.
If you could have dinner with one person dead or alive, who would it be: It would obviously be Emily Cook, who else?
One thing you can’t live without: A way to listen to music...and Emily Cook.
Favorite USSA athlete outside your sport: Jessie Diggins.
Advice to others who want to follow in your footsteps: Always see the fun in what you're doing. Being an athlete can be very difficult at times with mental and physical setbacks, know that conquering those setbacks will only make you better as an athlete and as a person. In addition, do not lose site of your goals and the steps you need to take in order to reach them.
