A multitalented athlete
BY JONATHAN KANE
John Blackburn, a rising senior year at Community School, has a passion for competition. This passion plays out on Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain as a ski racer, on the golf course, fishing and hunting, and on the soccer field as a member of the Sawtooth United Football Club.
“I just love to compete,” Blackburn said. “There are a lot of aspects to it, especially all the work you put into it outside competing to prepare yourself by getting fit – especially in skiing. There’s so much time preparing in the fall and summer for that brief moment that you’re actually racing.”
Blackburn said that of all the sports he competes in, skiing is his favorite. He started, like a lot of local kids, on Dollar Mountain.
“I was 2 years old,” he said. “I remember being with my dad and him using edgy-wedgies and a racer-chaser with me.”
(Edgy-wedgies and a racer-chasers are ski training tools for young children.)
Blackburn placed third in his first race at 9 years old, despite crashing and chipping a few teeth.
That same year he joined the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, “because it looked fun.” As a member of the SVSEF, Blackburn specializes in giant slalom, an event that requires more speed than the slalom.
“We have so many competitions during the season, and there is a lot of travel. I miss a lot of school,” he said with a laugh. “My favorite place outside of Sun Valley is Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The town is special and small, like here, and it also has steep mountains.”
This year Blackburn was voted most improved because he lowered his points by a significant amount.
As for his other favorite sport, golf, he said it was “especially hard. You have to be so precise and the mental part is such a big component. If you miss a little bit, it’s a completely different shot. But being so precise is appealing because you are trying to be as perfect as you can.”
According to Blackburn, it’s the same in skiing. “One little thing can mess you up and then you are out.”
He has high expectations for his senior year.
“I’m going to work hard to get into better condition, that will get me to a new level. This is by weightlifting, core training and soccer, which really helps me get into condition. I love trying to win at skiing because it’s such an adrenaline rush. I also love the sensation because it’s almost like flying. You are cutting through the wind even though you’re not in the sky.”