Originally a gymnast, Karly Shorr ultimately switched to snowboarding because she wanted to be like her two older brothers, who would ride Boyne Mountain near where the family grew up in Michigan. As a Midwesterner, Shorr grew up well outside of the sport’s biggest hubs, which made her a relative unknown during the qualifying period for the Sochi Olympics.

Shorr’s quest to make the Olympic team came down to the final qualifier. Thanks to a second-place finish at the event, she put herself in contention for a discretionary selection, which she officially received from the coaches a few days later. In Sochi, Shorr made the final and finished a very respectable sixth place — the top American result aside from gold medalist Jamie Anderson — in slopestyle’s Olympic debut.

Gaining steam in 2016, Shorr secured runner-up finishes at the Burton U.S. Open and the Olympic test event for slopestyle. She also finished the season ranked second overall in the FIS World Cup slopestyle standings.