--- title: Elizabeth Swaney Ski Halfpipe Qualification Run Viral Video description: Elizabeth Swaney may have made it to the 2018 Olympics, but she took a bit of a different route than the rest of the athletes in PyeongChang. canonical: https://time.com/5166522/olympics-elizabeth-swaney-halfpipe/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-20T17:14:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:45.928Z og:title: Skier Didn't Do a Single Trick During Her Olympic Run og:description: Here's how she made it to the Games og:url: https://time.com/5166522/olympics-elizabeth-swaney-halfpipe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf739b26b3f8e3c7/698928407cdbace94bd5c04e/olympics-2018-elizabeth-swaney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Olympics-2018-Elizabeth-Swaney og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Skier Didn't Do a Single Trick During Her Olympic Run twitter:description: Here's how she made it to the Games twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf739b26b3f8e3c7/698928407cdbace94bd5c04e/olympics-2018-elizabeth-swaney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Olympic Halfpipe Skier Didn't Do a Single Trick. Here's How She Made It to the Games  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 20, 2018 5:14 PM UTC  Elizabeth Swaney of Hungary competes in the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Halfpipe Qualifier at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics on February 19, 2018. Elizabeth Swaney of Hungary competes in the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Halfpipe Qualifier at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics on February 19, 2018.Cameron Spencer/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 20, 2018 5:14 PM UTC Hungarian [freeskier](http://time.com/5166017/maddie-bowman-winter-olympics-gold-medal/) Elizabeth Swaney may have made it to the [2018 Winter Olympics](http://time.com/5143796/winter-olympic-medals-by-country-2018/), but she took a bit of a different route than the rest of the athletes in [PyeongChang](http://time.com/5162516/pyeongchang-paralympics-2018-date-schedule-sports/). Swaney’s Olympic run began and ended during Monday’s ladies’ halfpipe qualification when she skied a run that featured absolutely zero tricks. However, this amateur performance was apparently par for the course for the 33-year-old, who earned an Olympic berth simply by attending enough World Cup events. “The field is not that deep in the women’s pipe and she went to every World Cup, where there were only 24, 25, or 28 women,” longtime halfpipe and slopestyle judge Steele Spence told [_The Denver Post_](https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/18/elizabeth-swaney-olympic-halfpipe-contest/)_,_ referencing the necessity for top-30 finishes. “She would compete in them consistently over the last couple years and sometimes girls would crash so she would not end up dead last.” There were only 24 quota spots available in women’s ski halfpipe at this year’s Olympics, but injuries combined with countries not using all their spots made it so that the No. 34-ranked Swaney was able to compete in the Games. “I’m just trying to do the best for myself and represent Hungary as best as I can,” she said on Sunday. > [](https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/965746567192997889) Here’s what the Internet thought of her unique run. > [](https://twitter.com/KsKM3/status/965583239967657985) > [](https://twitter.com/BenjaminHolcomb/status/965689788161404928) > [](https://twitter.com/poniesandsodies/status/965692538882609152) > [](https://twitter.com/rachellauren66/status/965450118815129600) > [](https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/965647758647468033) > [](https://twitter.com/JCarsonC/status/965722203894484992) > [](https://twitter.com/jonhuffman/status/965737276981633031) > [](https://twitter.com/WillItG/status/965769865419161600) Elizabeth Swaney Ski Halfpipe Qualification Run Viral Video ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5166522/olympics-elizabeth-swaney-halfpipe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5166522/olympics-elizabeth-swaney-halfpipe/"},"headline":"This Olympic Halfpipe Skier Didn't Do a Single Trick. 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