Jenny Owens (born 17 May 1978) is an Australian alpine and freestyle skier, who competed in multiple Winter Olympic Games, including 2002, 2010, and 2014 Games. Owens also competed in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships twice and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships twice. She competed for six years on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour and nine years on FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup. She has competed in four Winter X Games, winning the bronze medal in the SkierX in 2012. Owens was a member of the Australian alpine team for seven years, followed by nine years as a member of the ski cross team.
Skiing career
Owens made her Alpine World Cup debut in St Moritz on 17 December 1999. She also collected her first World Cup points (top-30 finish in a race) at this event.
Owens struggled to make the top 30 consistently and did not score any more World Cup points until 21 December 2001, again in St Moritz. Owens' highest placing on the World Cup Alpine tour was 17th in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
Owens competed in alpine skiing for 14 years, skiing in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and in two world championships, St Anton 2001 and St Moritz 2003, before retiring from alpine racing in 2004. The following year, Owens decided to make a comeback in order to compete in the new Olympic event of ski cross.
While Owens made the podium on several occasions during her World Cup ski cross career, she suffered several injuries prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics and underwent two knee surgeries in the lead-up to the Games, the second of which was only four weeks beforehand. Owens placed 13th in Vancouver, which was immediately followed by a second knee reconstruction.
Owens returned to the ski cross tour in 2011, collecting a bronze medal at the 2010–11 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup in Canada, and finishing 5th at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 2011. The following year, she received bronze at the 2012 Winter X Games.
Owens competed at her third Olympics in Sochi, retiring after a 12th place finish in freestyle skiing.
Olympics
Sochi 2014 – Freestyle
Finished 12th in the Ski cross
Vancouver 2010 – Freestyle
Finished 13th in the Ski cross
Salt Lake 2002 – Alpine
Finished 9th in the combined
Finished 29th in the downhill
Finished 28th in the super-G
Did not finish in giant slalom
Did not start in slalom
World Championships
Voss NOR 2013 – Freestyle
DNF in ski cross
Deer Valley USA 2011 – Freestyle
5th position in ski cross
Inawashiro JPN 2009 – Freestyle
15th position in ski cross
St Moritz SUI 2003 – Alpine
DNF downhill due to injury
St Anton AUT 2001 – Alpine
31 – Downhill
34 – Super-G
31 – Giant slalom
World Cup
Owens has had two silver and two bronze medals on the Freestyle World Cup tour to date in her career.
Owens has been one of the top ranked ski cross athletes since her debut in 2005. In 2009–2010 she had numerous injuries and missed eight of the scheduled world cups and nearly missed the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Owens competed on the Alpine World Cup for six years, with placement in the top 30 several times in the Combined and Downhill events.
Winter X Games
Invitation 2012 – qualified 4th = BRONZE
Invitation 2008 – qualified 9th = 4th in semi, did not start small finals
Invitation 2007 – qualified 12th = 3rd in semi, DNF finals
Invitation 2005 – qualified 3rd = injured herself in training prior to the finals