The team behind 'Protecting The Shield' reflects on some of the findings they uncovered during two years of investigation. The investigative series comes to APP.com Jan. 22. Ryan Ross
Meghan Tierney was the young American girl competing in the rough-and-tumble world of international snowboard cross, challenging the top female snowboarders on the planet on icy turns and big-air jumps at harrowing speeds down the most treacherous courses.
Sort of like a teenager jumping behind the wheel in the Daytona 500.
But it’s all been so worth it.
It was two years ago that Tierney got an invite to the X Games. And earlier this week, 13 months after a spill in Austria nearly ended her career, and just days after turning 21, Tierney found out she was an Olympian, named to the U.S. Snowboarding team headed to South Korea next month.
Now Tierney, who grew up in Rumson and Little Silver, joins teammates like silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis, her idol and former instructor, who was teaching her to do jumps at an early age, on the biggest stage in winter sports.
``It’s just an honor to represent your country,’’ said Tierney by phone from Bulgaria, where she’s competing in this week’s World Cup event.
``It’s been pretty crazy. I wasn’t sure exactly where I stood, when one of the coaches told me he needed to see me and have a talk I wasn’t too sure what he was going to say, but it was definitely a relief to know that I was on the team and go the third spot.’’
Speaking of crazy, pretty much everyone agrees that what could have been a disastrous event turned into a defining moment in Tierney’s quest to compete in PyeongChang.
Chris Tierney and his wife, Sandy, moved the family to Colorado so their children, including Meghan’s older siblings, Chris and Makayla, both former pro snowboarders, could pursue their dreams.
``It was December (2016) and I was driving, and I never like having my phone on me when they’re overseas because when you get a call it’s usually not a good thing,’’ Chris Tierney said. ``So I picked up the phone and it was Meghan and she was crying and was in the process of getting helivaced to an Austrian hospital. She ended up breaking her back.’’
More specifically, Tierney had fractured her L3 vertebrae
``Thankfully I didn’t need surgery, I just needed rest and physical therapy,’’ she said.
But Tierney was forced to miss the rest of the 2016-17 season, and faced a grueling rehab before returning to the slopes.
``It was probably the best thing that ever happened to her,’’ Chris Tierney said. ``She wasn’t used to struggling. She had a lot of early success, especially when she was younger. I think this period really built her character. Even though she really didn’t want to do it, she had no choice.’’
``It was a breakthrough moment for me, and I decided the Olympics was really something I wanted to do,’’ Meghan Tierney said. ``I really don’t think I would have trained as hard as I did if I didn’t have to. I never really trained that much or put too much thought into it before.’’
Still, Tierney was just rounding into form, both physically and mentally, when Olympic qualifying began, with the team selected by coaches based on performances in five World Cup races designated as qualifying events.
``Over the past month she was ready to roll again mentally, whereas before that I think she was struggling,’’ Chris Tierney said. ``When she went into the race in Turkey, which was the last qualifying event, she knew she had her back to the wall.’’
And at the 11th hour, Tierney came through with the performance she needed, finishing seventh overall and convincing the U.S. coaches that she was all the way back.
``For sure, I think that was definitely what got me selected,’’ Meghan Tierney said. ``It was my best result so far, and I showed the coaches I was riding well and hopefully perform well at the Olympics.’’
Now a contingent of extended family will be making the trip to PyeongChang, South Korea, with the women’s snowboard cross set for Feb. 15.
``It’s going to be great with my whole family going,’’ she said. ``I couldn’t have done it without them, especially my parents and siblings. My parents gave up so much so we could do this, moving out to Colorado for everyone, and my brother taught me a lot. I’m just really thankful.’’
Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com; @SteveEdelsonAPP