Not every leap is about medals.
Some are about making a statement.
At the first Freestyle Aerials World Cup of the 2025 winter season in Lake Placid, Ashton Salwan launched into a bold new chapter of his career — one that didn’t come with a podium finish, but something far more powerful: proof that he belongs on the world’s biggest stage.
On January 18th, in front of a roaring hometown crowd and under frigid New York skies, Ashton competed on the triple jump for the very first time at a World Cup event — and he didn’t just survive it. He stuck it.
With confidence and commitment, Ashton threw a back-Full-Full-Full — a high-difficulty, triple-twisting triple somersault — and became the only U.S. athlete at the event performing on the triple jump who wasn’t already named to the U.S. Ski Team.
He finished 18th overall. But the result tells only part of the story.
For Ashton, this competition wasn’t about chasing perfection — it was about chasing possibility.
While most athletes ease into World Cup events with familiar tricks and safer bets, Ashton chose a different path. After spending the summer training independently, this was his first chance to show the world how far he’d come. And he did it on the hardest jump of his life.
Competing alongside Olympians and seasoned pros, Ashton proved he could go head-to-head with the world’s elite — not just in grit, but in technical difficulty. On that snow-covered hill in Lake Placid, he moved from “up-and-comer” to contender.
This 18th-place finish isn’t an endpoint — it’s ignition. Lake Placid marked the start of Ashton’s 2024/25 World Cup campaign, and the promise of what’s to come is unmistakable. Now equipped with triple-jump confidence, a sharpened routine, and the hunger to climb higher, Ashton is locked in for the road ahead — chasing top finishes, Olympic qualification, and new personal bests on every stop of the tour.
“Throwing a Full-Full-Full at my first World Cup of the season wasn’t just about going big — it was about proving to myself that I was ready. The placement matters, but the belief I left with matters more.” ~Ashton Salwan
