Today I had the chance to interview Sebastian Bjorkeson. Sebastian is currently a junior who has been attending Oratory since his freshman year. Ever since a young age, Sebastian has skied for fun and competitively. In this interview, we will gain insight into his skiing life.

 

How long have you been skiing? How long have you been skiing competitively?

 I have been skiing since I was around 3 years old. I started ski racing when I turned 6.

 

What interested you in beginning to ski?

My whole family before me skied, and I was strongly influenced to ski as well. It also gives me a thrill of excitement to ski down difficult trails.

 

How many races have you run?

Every year I have about 8 races, and I’ve skied every year since I was 6, so about 88 races.

 

What is your biggest accomplishment within skiing?

When I received 9th place in Slalom out of the entire Eastern half of the United States.

 

Would you want to ski in college? If so what is your dream college?

I believe it would be fun to do, and the college I really want to go to would be Boston University.

 

What is one word that you would use to describe yourself? Why did you pick this word?

I would say consistent. Over the past couple of years of skiing, I have grown very consistent in my races, rarely falling, or having a bad run. I used to be very inconsistent, but I believe I have grown exponentially since then.

 

Was there a major influence or something that swayed you chose to ski?

My sisters raced, which caused me to start, although I decided to stay when I made great friends doing this sport.

 

Who would you say is the biggest influence in your life currently for school and skiing?

My biggest influence is probably my dad, always being at every race, and being brutally honest with me all the time. Sometimes hearing what my dad really thinks of my run helps, even if it isn’t what I want to hear. For example, I might have a bad run, and my dad would come up to me and say, “What was that? Your rival Matt is half a second behind you… Step it up, don’t lose this for no reason.”

 

Do you have any pregame race routines? If so what are they?

I try to joke around a lot, to keep my mind off of the course, or else I overthink it and stress myself out way too much. Although, when I am in the starting gate, I overthink the course and try to remember the key parts of it.

 

Do you currently have a personal goal (or goals) for this season? If so what are they?

This season I would like to get top 50 in Championships, as most skiers I am skiing against have been in Academies since they were very young.

 

What is one word you would use to describe yourself as a skier? Why did you pick this word?

I would choose reckless. I have gotten dumb injuries from flying off of jumps as fast as I can, even though I know I have an important race the next weekend. I am also always on the edge on every course I complete, pushing for the best time I could possibly get.

 

Does anyone in your family ski? If so who? Did they have any impact on your decision to ski competitively?

My whole family skies and they convinced me to join racing, as both of my sisters did until High School. My parents never thought I would get to the level I did, but are happily surprised about it.  I have stuck with it and quitting hasn’t crossed my mind since I started.