How a Trip to Southern California Turned Snowboarder Ben Ferguson Into an Olympian
Olympic hopeful Ben Ferguson has snowboarding down pat.
As a member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team — competing in the superpipe — Ferguson, 22, is headed off to PyeongChang, South Korea, in February.
“Since last year, qualifying for the Olympics has been my whole focus,” Ferguson told FN in the days leading up to his qualifying events.
Discipline and tenacity have been essential qualities in Ferguson’s quest to perfect his superpipe runs, along with regular sessions on snow, a strict diet and elevated levels of cross training.
“I went down to Santa Monica, Calif., and spent a few weeks there last summer with a trainer,” Ferguson said. “He was this big Austrian dude that just kicks your ass working out. And he also put me on a program.”
Additionally, sponsors such as Burton Snowboards, Anon, Harley Davidson, DVS Shoes, Crab Grab, Mt. Bachelor and Redbull have all aided Ferguson in his hunt for Olympic gold — not to mention, of course, a strong base of family and friends in his hometown of Bend, Ore.
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As he preps for his travels abroad, Ferguson weighed in on the current unsteady climate of South Korea’s northern neighbor: “All the turmoil with North Korea definitely scares me. I think it scares everyone. But hopefully peace talks between north and south go well.”
Overall, though, he is looking forward to getting the most out of the Games. “I just want to fully experience the whole thing and have a blast. Watch events, go to parties — enjoy everything,” said the athlete. “On the contest side of things, I want to land the best runs I can do and be a contender for the podium.”
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