Cincinnati skier battles back from injury to clinch 2026 Winter Olympics bid: 'I made it'

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The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is just weeks away, and Greater Cincinnati residents will have a special reason to tune in as Cincinnati native Quinn Dehlinger chases gold.

Dehlinger, a freestyle skier who specializes in aerials, will make his Olympic debut at the Winter Games in Milano Cortina. Competitions kick off on Feb. 4, with the Opening Ceremony occurring on Feb. 6, with the Closing Ceremony happening on Feb. 22.

The 23-year-old, who trains in Park City, Utah, has had a whirlwind career. From starting skiing as a hobby to moving and training in New York as a teenager, to battling back after missing last season due to injury, Dehlinger has been nothing but determined.

His mother, Cindy Dehlinger, told The Enquirer her son has been "special since he came out of the womb," describing him as a good, "special kind of crazy" and "fearless." She also praised his work ethic, calling him determined and "fiercely competitive."

A Cincinnati kid's journey to the 2026 Winter Olympics

Quinn Dehlinger at the Elite Aerial Development Program (EADP) in Lake Placid, New York.

Dehlinger is on his way to the 2026 Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. Freestyle Ski National Team, but his introduction to the sport began as a way for his parents to get him and his three brothers out of the house.

"It was something that we all could do together," he told The Enquirer, adding that his brothers and parents all ski, but just for fun. Dehlinger ended up enjoying the sport so much that he decided to pursue it.

The freestyle skier, who specializes in aerials, began skiing at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, about 28.8 miles west of Downtown Cincinnati.

"It's such a small resort that you just get good, and then eventually, I was flipping on snow at 11 and then got recruited and eventually made that team, and that was that," he told The Enquirer.

He said his style of skiing has some similarities to big air and slope-style skiing, but the main difference, according to Dehlinger, is that aerial skiers have the biggest jumps, they go the highest in the air, and are doing the most difficult twists and flipping maneuvers.

Quinn Dehlinger as Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

Despite not having a gymnastics background, Dehlinger found himself latching onto the sport. He said he learned how to flip on the diving board at the Turpin Hills Swim Club and the trampoline in his backyard.

"(I) eventually brought the diving board and trampoline tricks to snow, and then transferred those to aerials, and then never looked back," he said. "I didn't ever have formal training with gymnastics or anything. It's just self-taught, watched videos and put myself into a pool and on a trampoline."

He moved to New York in middle school to chase his dreams

The Dehlinger Family in Snowshoe, West Virginia.

Dehlinger moved to the Big Apple when he was 13 to pursue his skiing career. His mother remembered when he first started getting recruited, marking an emotional time in her and her family's lives.

"When he was 12, he started going to camps, and after his first camp, their recruiter called me and he said, 'We're interested, we definitely want him,' and I just started crying because I was like, 'You can't have him!'"

From there, Dehlinger attended more camps and competitions until his family, especially his mother, was finally ready to let him venture off on his own.

"We had a lot of concerns," she said. "But we talked about it (and), I mean, it was a blind lead of faith, honestly. It was a hard decision because I knew if I let him go, I was like, 'He'll never come back.'"

Quinn Dehlinger, with his father Michael Dehlinger (left) and his mother, Cindy Dehlinger (right), at the Elite Aerial Development Program (EADP) in Lake Placid, New York.

Dehlinger's mother teared up recalling the moment, and although she was afraid to let him go, she wasn't going to stop him from chasing his dreams.

"I can't tell you how many moms have said to me: 'How did you send your son away? How did you let him go?' And I'm like, 'How could I not?'"

She said she solidified her decision after speaking to one of his teachers during a seventh-grade field trip. Cindy confided in the teacher, sharing her concerns and doubts regarding Quinn's schooling, when the teacher told her, "If there's any kid that could do it, it would be him."

And the rest is history.

The summer before his eighth-grade year, Dehlinger moved to Lake Placid, New York, where he made the Elite Aerial Development Program team, a development program the U.S. Ski Team used to have for aerials.

When he moved, there were six guys and six girls all between the ages of 14 and 18, and a coach on-site at the facility, which featured dorm rooms and food halls.

"It was definitely a big change, but a welcome change," he said. "Looking back, it was one of the most fun moments of my life."

He had just turned 14 when he made the team and remained on it for three more years. Dehlinger said he eventually wanted to tour, which brought him to Park City, Utah, where he now lives and trains alongside other U.S. Ski Team members.

Joe Burrow's leg injury inspired Dehlinger to recuperate after sustaining his own injury

Dehlinger missed most of the 2023-24 season after he tore his ACL, MCL and his meniscus. But, as his mother mentioned, he is very competitive and wasn't going to let an injury set him back.

"I honestly don't think he feels pain like the rest of us," his mother said. "When he blew out his knee, he wanted to get back in a shorter time frame than Joe Burrow did when he blew out his knee."

Despite tearing several ligaments in his knee, only his ACL required surgery. His recovery process took nine months before he was cleared. However, after seven months, he started training again.

The 23-year-old said his goal after coming back from the knee injury was to get back to competing "in a full manner," meaning doing quad twists and triple backflips at all the events.

Not only did he achieve his goal, but he clinched his first World Cup win on home snow at the 2025 Intermountain Health Freestyle International. He also helped lead Team USA to a second straight aerials team gold at the World Championships, a historic first, and followed it up with an individual silver medal.

He has now medaled at every World Championships event he's entered.

"To come out with some results, especially at home World Cup win, and then the second place at World Champs, that was just an extra cherry on top," he said. "To actually have those results and then turn those into an Olympic qualification spot was unbelievable. I didn't even think 12 months ago that was a possibility."

How Dehlinger found out he made the Olympics: 'I was so surprised'

US Quinn Dehlinger competes to place second in the Men's Aerials Final event at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships 2025 in St. Moritz, on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Dehlinger knew there was a possibility he could become an Olympian, but was "blindsided" by the official announcement. He told The Enquirer his coach's boss, U.S. Ski Snowboard Freestyle Director Matt Gnoza, had been the one to break the news during a June 10 phone call.

"Any time he contacts me, it's either something good or something bad, and he texted me in the morning and was like, 'Hey, can we hop on a call?'" And I was like, 'Oh, man, what did I do this time?'"

"He hops on the call and was like, 'Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you, you made the Olympic team,' and I was like like, 'What?' I was so surprised,'" he explained.

Dehlinger's mother said hearing the news was "surreal."

"When (Quinn) was home in July, he told me that they were going to have a meeting and I knew that the only way to make the (Olympic) team this year was to be ranked in the top three in the world at the end of the season," she explained. "So I kind of forgot about it, and two weeks later he called me, and was like, 'Mom, I got the call. I made it.'"

"I was just like, 'Oh, my God! Can you believe this?' He's like, 'No, mom, I can't believe it."

His mom said she texted her big family group chat and told her coworkers the exciting news "right away." She said the whole family will travel to the small town of Livingo, Italy, to cheer on Dehlinger as he competes in his first-ever Olympic Games.

"Anderson Township and the Cincinnati area have really supported me because it's not very common to have U.S. Ski Team members from Ohio, so anytime the Cincinnati area gets a chance to be represented on the world stage is always great," he said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati skier qualifies for 2026 Winter Olympics. See his journey

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