A few months after competing at the U.S. National Freestyle Skiing championships on a very sore left knee, Alex Jenson found out why the leg she injured in a February fall still hurt. Jenson, a Waterville native, had a tibial plateau fracture, a break at the top of shin near the knee joint.
Jenson had skied the second half of the season, including the national championships in March at Steamboat, Colo., on a broken leg.
“We thought it was a bone bruise. I was cleared to compete because the knee was stable,” Jenson said. “I shouldn’t have skied on it. Last week I was cleared to resume full activity.”
Healthy again, Jenson’s summer will be spent training for next season, when she hopes to have another strong run on the NorAm circuit and earn a few starts in World Cup mogul events.
For the third season, Jenson, who turned 20 in March, is a member of the U.S. developmental team. As one of the top five mogul skiers in the country not on the national team — based on NorAm standings — Jenson earned a spot on the developmental squad. The developmental group status gives Jenson guaranteed starts in NorAm races, as well as opportunities to train with the national team.
“I can focus on earning World Cup starts I’m aiming for this year,” Jenson said.
Last season was Jenson’s first full one back after suffering a torn ACL in her left knee during a training run in early 2013. After an intense rehab schedule, Jenson finished seventh in both the mogul and dual mogul competition at the 2014 national championships at Deer Valley, Utah.
Jenson’s success at the end of the 2013-14 seasons set up a strong 2014-15 run. Jenson had four top 10 NorAm finishes and was skiing well.
“I was feeling really good up to February, when I had the fall,” Jenson said.
Jenson’s fall came in a small competition at The Canyons, a mountain near her current home in Park City, Utah. She immediately felt pain in the knee, and not far removed from reconstructive surgery Jenson feared the worst.
“I was a little worried I had done something that ended my season,” Jenson said.
After a few days of rest, Jenson began to feel better and competed in a pair of events, although she had to cut back on her training. On Feb. 22, Jenson took sixth place in the moguls competition at Val St. Come, Quebec, and on March 10 was 10th in dual moguls at Killington, Vt.
At the national championships on March 27 and 29, Jenson placed 12th in the moguls and 18th in the dual moguls. The competition was tougher than in 2014, when many of the top national team skiers skipped the national championships after the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, but still, Jenson didn’t do as well as she hoped to.
“I definitely didn’t feel as comfortable. I had to limit my training,” Jenson said. “I kind of struggled with my consistency. The biggest thing with mogul skiing is consistency. You have to lay three runs down in a day. I could do one really strong run.”
Now healthy, Jenson is back training. She’s started water ramping, practicing aerial tricks by jumping into a pool. Jenson isn’t looking to add any new tricks to her aerial bag this summer. Rather, she’s working on perfecting her back full 360 degree jump.
“I’m looking to get that more consistent,” Jenson said.
Jenson also recently enrolled at the University of Utah. She’s working on her core courses, with plans to focus on a biology/pre med major when her competitive skiing days are over.
“It felt like it was time to start my college career,” Jenson said.
Jenson and her teammates will head to Australia in August for three weeks of training, and will train in France in November. In December, she’ll train in either Utah or British Columbia. All of the work leads up to the selections competition at Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 18-21, where Jenson could earn a spot in World Cup events scheduled for Lake Placid, N.Y. and Deer Valley.
Jenson is healthy, and motivated.
“I feel ready to take that step,” Jenson said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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