Bloomington native Keri Herman locked up a spot on the U.S. Olympic team Saturday, finishing second in a slopestyle freeskiing event at the U.S. Grand Prix in Park City, Utah, to automatically qualify for the Sochi Olympics.
Herman, 31, earned a score of 91.20 points on her first run and 91.80 on her second in her sport's final Olympic selection event. Fellow American Julia Krass surpassed her with a score of 92.60 on the second run to win. Devin Logan also has clinched a place on the Olympic freeskiing team, with the full roster to be announced Saturday night.
Herman, who won the third selection event in Breckenridge, Colo., last week, was assured of an Olympic berth with a finish on the podium at Park City. She was the only athlete to earn scores of 90 points or more on both her runs Saturday.
Freeskiing will make its Olympic debut in Sochi and includes two disciplines, halfpipe and slopestyle. In slopestyle, athletes make flipping, twisting jumps and slide down rails as they ski down the course. Last season, Herman became the first American to win the World Cup championship in women's slopestyle.
Herman graduated from Convent of the Visitation High School and now lives in Breckenridge, Colo.
