Devin Logan is a slopestyle skier who won the silver medal at her event’s Olympic debut in 2014. But what sets Logan apart is she also competes in ski halfpipe. The 24-year-old has won two X Games medals in slopestyle, finished on the podium 12 times at world cup events (nine halfpipe, three slopestyle) and earned halfpipe bronze at the 2017 world championships. Follow Logan’s journey to make the 2018 Olympic team in both events as she writes for TeamUSA.org.
I can’t believe it has been four years since Sochi and the Olympics are going to be here this season. The time has really flown by, but the last four years have been such an incredible journey both on and off snow. I feel like I have grown so much as a person and a skier in those years and couldn’t be more excited for this time around.
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| Devin Logan poses with her nephew, Chase. |
Since Sochi, I have learned a lot about myself and what works best for Devin! It is easy to get caught up in everything: training, sponsors, media and the pressures of defending the title I now have to my name. Sure, I am Devin Logan, Olympic silver medalist, but I always remind myself that I am still the same Devin – happy-go-lucky and a goofball. Now going through my second Olympic prep period, I feel I have a better understanding of things I would like to do the same and what I’d like to do differently. What works best for me is sticking to a plan; trusting that everything will fall into place.
The past three years since the Olympics I haven’t had my best competition results on paper and that has been one of the hardest things to accept, because who doesn’t like winning and standing on podiums?! The year following Sochi, I definitely took a more chill approach to contests. I never felt the extra pressure to defend my title because I knew I had nothing I had to prove to anyone and no one could take my medal away from me. That year I was just sneaking into finals, being the number five or six girl. After a whole season of those finishes I knew my mentality had to change.
I was getting sick of just sneaking in and I knew I have more to give. The progression of women’s skiing is at an all-time high with the next generation stepping up and really pushing the sport, and I am feeling the pressure. I still continue to compete in both halfpipe and slopestyle, and I’m realizing I’m not 18 years old anymore. It is all taking a toll physically and mentally. It took me a while to figure out the best approach, but I believe I have found that now.
Going into the 2018 season, I have worked hard to set goals for myself. My main goal is to be satisfied with my skiing overall, win or lose! I want to ski the way I want to ski and put down runs that I am happy with. This means to push my boundaries, even if I risk falling in my runs. I want to keep progressing myself to learn more because I know I still have what it takes to stand back on that podium again this February in South Korea.
This summer I stuck to my plan of staying home while my team went to New Zealand because over the years I have seen how much gym time helps my stamina to get through the whole season. I also trained on the new airbag in Park City, Utah, that is set up at the Utah Olympic Park, working on tricks that I want to land in runs this season. With the younger generation really pushing the progression of the sport, it has lit a fire under me to keep pushing myself because I want to make the Olympic team and I want to achieve my ultimate goal of making both the halfpipe and slopestyle teams.
