Mogul skier extraordinaire Shane Johnson, 18 of Waldoboro, is having a solid year on the single and dual mogul circuit this winter. He is ranked 37th in single moguls and 21st in dual moguls in the USA, including members of the U.S. Ski Team.
Johnson tried out for the U.S. team, but did not make the cut. “He did not expect to make the team. You need three good days,” his mother Liza Johnson said.
Johnson did qualify for the Junior Olympics (top 60 competitors), for Nationals (top 37) and for the U.S. Ski Team Selections (top 45) for the coming season. He “fore” ran for the World Cup event at Deer Valley. Fore running is the process of skiing a course just before the competitors go to warm up the judges on the world stage.
In single moguls, competitors run one at a time and are judged. In dual moguls a competitor runs against another, if he wins, he moves on in the competition.
Johnson placed second three times this season in singles, and took third once, and he has one first place finish and three, second place finishes in duals.
At 18, Johnson is fairly young on the mogul circuit. He is still working on getting stronger and fine-tuning his skills. His coaches expect in a couple of years he will be strong enough to make the U.S. Ski Team.
Johnson, a homeschooler, is living in Salt Lake City, Utah with his parents, Liza and Andrew, and training. When not running moguls, Johnson likes to free ski, jumping of cliffs and big mountain skiing.
A video clip of him running dual moguls can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vuGPgaoZIs.
