CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – AJ Hart and Keely Cashman join forces in the women’s alpine ski combined event at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games on Tuesday, February 10th at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center.
Ahead of the contest, the pair posted a series of photos showing their longtime friendship and the many mountainsides they’ve spent time together. Hart is from Carnelian Bay and Cashman is from Strawberry, California, and the two grew up skiing together in the Tahoe area under the guidance of Cashman’s father.
Their post reads, “Tomorrow, the Olympic team joins us. Somehow they made us partners. We’re still deciding who will compete in which event. Let us know what you think in the comments! Thank you, our fans. #bescared #lfg #teamusa #olympics #mewing.”
In the team competition, a pair of domestic skiers competes against a pair from another country, with one team member competing in the downhill competition and the other in the slalom competition.
Cashman, 26, recovered from an unsteady one-footed landing to complete the course and sparked a competition between the pair with a downhill run.
Then came the opportunity for Hart, 25, to race in the slalom leg.
Hart ran an aggressive and clean race in the slalom event, beating Czech’s previous fastest time by 1.39 seconds.
Wearing a cowgirl hat, Team USA’s Cashman greeted her friend with a hug at the bottom of the course.
At the end of the competition, their combined time placed them in 15th place.
Cashman and Hart raced alongside a deep field of U.S. teammates, including the honorable mention of Mikaela Shiffrin, who was paired with recent Olympic downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson. Shiffrin and Johnson finished just outside the podium in fourth place, with teammates Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Molzahn taking bronze.
Austria won the gold medal, followed by Germany with the silver medal.
Nina O’Brien, another regional competitor, was scheduled to compete in the slalom division of the combined event. However, O’Brien was unable to complete the race as his teammate Isabella Wright veered off the downhill course, resulting in a DNF.