SHOP ASHLEY'S FAVORITES
Champion and Veteran
Ashley Caldwell has been an aerial freestyle skier for 14 years, and despite being 28 years young, she is considered a veteran in the sport. She’s also a Champion. Looking at her career accomplishments, her veteran status makes sense: three-time Olympian, three-time World Championship medalist and a World Cup #1 ranking. She was also the first female ever to land a Full-Double-Full-Full in competition – a trick that would win her the 2017 World Championship Gold Medal.
First Time Feeling the OO
Ashley first discovered OOFOS while visiting her brother, an elite high school tennis player, and her mom in Florida. After trying on his OOahh recovery slides, she immediately wanted more information. The one-of-a-kind technology behind OOfoam™ lined up with how much better they made her body feel and how much faster she recovered. Her brother joked that she couldn’t be a “serious athlete” if she didn’t know about OOFOS! She borrowed her mom’s pair for the rest of the trip to deal with lingering ankle pain from the long season. As an aerialist, she knew that adding OOFOS to her daily recovery routine would keep her feeling better and more recharged throughout the grueling season.
Facing Her Fears
Standing atop a 100ft ramp, preparing to launch yourself 60ft into the air can shake anyone’s nerves – even a Champion. When asked why she does it anyways, Ashley said, “because of all the work I put in.” That work consists of year-round ariel jump training – both onto snow and into a pool. That’s right, in the summer months, Ashley and other freestyle skiers launch themselves off of ramps into pools of water. This is where they perfect their tricks before taking them to the snow. While the pool also helps avoid the big crashes and injuries that can result from a bad landing on a steep, snowy hill, it is also where the majority of the impact forces take place on her body.
The Impact of Training
We’ve all hit water the wrong way and felt the impact of the surface tension. Now, try it with skis attached while landing from 60ft up in the air. Despite using bubbles to break the surface tension of the water, this is where Ashley says the chronic fatigue and impact of training show up. After the repetitive impact, her body seeks relief if she is going to train at 100% again the next day or put in a second workout later that day. If that’s not enough, between jumps, Ashley and her fellow skiers have to hike back up hundreds of metal steps in ski boots and gear - while carrying their skis over their shoulder.
Pushing Hard, Recovering Easy
Currently, Ashley is training harder than she ever has leading up to the 2022 games in Beijing. Yet, she also knows she “has to be 100% in order to claim the podium”, and feels like OOFOS provide her the ‘competitive advantage’ of recovery footwear many athletes don’t know about yet.
mOOving the Bar
When Ashley first transitioned from gymnastics to aerial skiing, she looked to the boys for new, harder tricks. Before long, she found herself standing toe to toe with many of her male counterparts, wondering if she was setting the bar high enough. “If I am out here saying I want to ‘beat the boys’, then boys are that gold standard. I didn’t want young girls to also be saying, ‘I want to beat the boys’. I wanted them to say ‘I want to be my best.’” It’s this attitude that led Ashley to attempting a Full-Double-Full-Full in competition …
Not only did she win the World Championship, but she became the first female to land that trick in competition, breaking down performance gender performance barriers previously in place, and helping her achieve her true goal in life …
We are excited to support Ashley in her lead-up to Beijing and look forward to being there with her as she achieves new heights in the sport of freestyle aerial skiing.
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