Skiing before he turned two years old, Mac Bohonnon is right at home on the snow. After getting his start at Stratton Mountain, he further built on his skill set in Dmitriy Kavunov’s Elite Aerial Development Program (EADP). Bohonnon showed strong promise in his first seasons on the U.S. Ski Team. In the 2014 season, when he 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–at only 19 years old.

Building off his Olympic success, Bohonnon has claimed a total of nine World Cup podium finishes since the 2014 season. His consistent jumping and stellar results landed him at the top of the aerial World Cup rankings at the send of the 2015 season, bringing home the crystal globe for the first time since Jeret "Speedy" Peterson in 2005. After a strong 2017 season, Bohonnon is heading into the Olympic season as a medal favorite for the U.S. Ski Team.

Q: What was the breakthrough moment when you realized you could compete at the elite level?
A: The 2014 Olympics were the biggest breakthrough moment for me mentally. I went to the Games as a total rookie - I had won FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year two weeks before. I knew I belonged, but I just hadn't proven to myself that I could compete on the biggest stage with the best athletes, and that is exactly what I did in Sochi. I was able to harness the doubts from myself and others and compete at my highest level at the time, which was good enough for fifth place. The Olympics filled me with confidence and really made me feel like I could be the best in the world, which I was able to prove to the rest of the world the following year when I won the overall World Cup title. 

Q: Favorite activities outside of your sport?
A: I am an avid fly fisherman. I love to mountain bike and try to golf as much as I can. It's tough to find time for them all, but I do my best in the summer.