A 14-year-old Bend girl holds the title of “number one in the nation” in slopestyle skiing for her age group.
Tatym Smith just took home a first place medal from the Tahoe Futures Event last week. Along with the medal came a check for $1,000 and, unfortunately, a broken jaw.
Because of this, her dad spoke for her during our interview.
“She certainly showed an athletic aptitude for this activity and she did have exposure to snow sports at a young age,” said Chris Smith, Tatym’s father.
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Starting at two or three years old, Tatym was a natural. Since her dad is a ski coach, he figures she’s had a lot more ski experience than most from such a young age.
She started athletic training at eight, and by 14 she is looking at a national stage.
“We’ve discussed Olympics. We’ve discussed U.S. Ski Team. We’ve discussed some various other avenues that she’s aligned for,” said Chris.
While those conversations are happening, Tatym is building her medal collection with local, regional and national medals.
Breaking her jaw is just a bump in the road and the young skier said this will not stop her from continuing her journey.
The next steps will be allowing her jaw to heal for around six weeks, and then getting back on the skis.
For the uninitiated, here’s a look at slopestyle skiing at last year’s Beijing Olympics.
