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After an injury toward the end of last season, U.S. Ski Team veteran Winter Vinecki is back at the top of her game. In Canada Tuesday, she took first place in the women’s aerials ski competition at the Lac-Beauport FIS World Cup.
In the fall, she told KPCW that coming off an injury made her a bit nervous about competing this season. Last year, a few days before the Deer Valley World Cup, she tweaked a neck muscle during training. Then pain began radiating down her arm.
“Unfortunately, I had severely herniated my C6-7 disc in my neck, and my 5-6 was bulging pretty bad, and so it immediately took me out for the season. Had to get a spinal injection,” she said. “They were waiting to see if I needed to get a spinal fusion, which would have been a very big deal.”
Thankfully over several months, her neck healed well on its own and she was able to start running and doing some hops.
But it took a lot more work to be ready for competitions this winter. Over the summer, Vinecki trained hard, even spending a month in Australia for extra training.
Now she’s ranked No. 3 in the world for aerials and she’s on track to make her second Olympics.
“That's my big goal, is to make that Olympic team,” Vinecki said. “It's such a cool, unique experience and such an honor to get to go. It's of course stressful and intense and nerve-wracking being up there on that world stage and having that opportunity to go for an Olympic gold medal, but I think it's just exciting to be there.”
She said this Olympics would be especially fun since family and friends would be able to attend. Vinecki’s first Games were in 2022, when COVID-19 pandemic precautions meant athletes had to distance themselves from competitors as well as supporters.
Things will be back to normal for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Vinecki has also been active, even off the slopes. She became a triathlete at age five and competed in her first Olympic triathlons at nine.
Her dad was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of prostate cancer when she was nine as well. After he died, she and her mom honored him by becoming the first mother-daughter duo to run a marathon on all seven continents.
Vinecki also became the youngest person to run a marathon on all seven continents and the youngest person to run a marathon on Antarctica. Each race helped raise prostate cancer awareness.
Vinecki said her father’s death taught her to take advantage of every opportunity.
“We don't know how long we have on this earth, and so I’m not going to wait until tomorrow to do things that I'm capable of doing today,” she said. “My dad was also a big kid at heart, and I always just had the biggest smile on my face. So it always kind of reminds me to have fun with what I'm doing.”
Vinecki was named to the U.S. Ski Team in 2016, starting out as a rookie.
Now as a veteran, she enjoys mentoring newer team members.
“In the last couple years, [I’ve] really come into my own in the sport, and established myself as one of the best in the sport, which is a really cool place to be, especially coming into an Olympic year here,” Vinecki said.
In addition to competing at the highest level in aerials, Vinecki is also challenging herself mentally: she’s attending St. Mary’s University School of Law through an online program.
Some of Vinecki’s Park City-based teammates also shined at the World Cup in Canada Tuesday. Quinn Dehlinger, who’s already secured a 2026 Olympics spot, was back on the podium for the first time this season in third place.
Connor Curran and Tasia Tanner finished in fourth place.
