BIOGRAPHY:
Born a Florida beach girl, Jessica Jerome's life underwent a cosmic shift when her parents moved her family to Utah at age 5. Just two years after first hitting the snow, at age 7, she was on jump skis, and by age 14 she was a Junior Olympic champion. Jerome has never looked back, winning seven U.S. titles including a clean sweep of the small and big hill in 2008. The Utah native has earned over 20 Continental Cup podiums in career and grabbed her first win in 2010 at Rovaniemi. Along the way Jerome has refused to let injury hold her back, recovering from numerous career-threatening falls. Healthy and ready for the next step, Jerome has her eyes on World Cup victories and off in the distance, a chance at Olympic immortality.
JESSICA SAYS:
This past season actually went really well for me. I won my first competition ever out of the many Continental Cups I’ve ever skied in, I had a couple of seconds and was consistently in the top 10 which was really great because jumping can be really inconsistent. World Championships was a little bit of a dissapointment but I know what I did wrong and I know how to change it in the future. Next year is an off year as far as Olympics and World Championships go but it’s the first year we will have official World Cups, and I’m really excited about competing in that.
FIRST TRACKS:
Jessica is a product of the Park City Nordic Ski Club, recruited from her elementary school. “They came to my elementary school and talked about their program to us in second grade, so I told my mom I wanted to sign up, but my parents thought it was too dangerous and didn’t take it seriously,” says Jerome. She finally bugged them enough to get involved with the afterschool program and she kept making strides from there.
OFF THE SNOW:
I am currently halfway through an economics degree at Westminster College, so I try to go to school when I can. I also work at a restaurant and travel when I get the opportunity. I got to go to Thailand this year for a month, which was awesome! I always try and squeeze in trips to different places because I like to see new things!
