A ski jumper from northwest-suburban Chicago has punched his ticket to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics by winning the United States ski jumping trials in Utah.
Cary-native Michael Glasder, who is part of the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove, narrowly edged out Wauconda’s Kevin Bickner for the guaranteed spot on the U.S. ski jumping team, which will compete in the Olympics this February.
Glasder qualified for his first Olympics after missing the cut in 2010 and 2014. “I’ve barely missed the last two Olympics, but I stuck it out and worked hard. I can’t wait for Pyeongchang," Glasder said.
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On his two jumps, Glasder scored a combined 270.0, narrowly beating Kevin Bickner’s 268.6. Barrington’s Casey Larson finished fourth in the competition with a combined 235.4.
Former World champion Sarah Hendrickson also clinched a spot on Team USA at Pyeongchang on Sunday.
Hendrickson was the women's winner with 263.4 total points after two jumps. She took the lead following a first jump where she covered 97.5 meters at 91.0 kph.
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It is the second trip to the Olympics for Hendrickson. She qualified for Sochi in 2014 but finished 21st overall after suffering a major knee injury in a training accident before the games.
Both Bickner and Larson remain in the running to be named to the Olympic team when the full roster is announced on Jan. 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
