Fresh off an Olympic podium in Italy, Canby's own Jackie Wiles stepped back onto Oregon soil Monday, walking through Portland International Airport with a bronze medal hanging from her neck and a lifetime of hard knocks behind her. The veteran downhill specialist helped Team USA grab a spot on the podium in a new alpine event at the Milan-Cortina Games, a finish that felt like a hometown victory for the Mount Hood ski crowd that has watched her since she was a teenager carving turns on local slopes.
Wiles teamed with Paula Moltzan to secure bronze in the inaugural women's team combined, clocking a total time of 2:21.91 and slipping ahead of several tight contenders on the Cortina course. Official timing shows Wiles throwing down a 1:37.04 downhill run, setting up Moltzan's slalom leg and locking in third place for the Americans. As detailed by Olympedia, Austria took gold and Germany grabbed silver in the debut event.
Homecoming at PDX
Wiles touched down at Portland International Airport on March 23, where family members and a handful of local supporters were waiting at the gate. She told reporters the whole experience still did not feel real. "It's such a dream come true," Wiles said to KOIN 6 News as she hugged relatives in the terminal. Local coverage noted that the Canby native had spent months rebuilding both strength and confidence before returning to the World Cup circuit and ultimately climbing onto the Olympic medal podium.
From crash to podium
The bronze shines a little brighter given what it took to get here. Less than a year before the Games, Wiles survived a training-flight plane crash in Sisters, Oregon, then clawed her way back to international racing form. NBC's Olympic recap highlighted that the Americans' bronze came "less than a year removed from surviving a plane crash," using the line to underscore her resilience under pressure. Her comeback follows another major setback: she missed the 2018 PyeongChang Games after a season-ending leg injury in a World Cup race in Germany, a blow chronicled in her Team USA profile. Both NBC Los Angeles and Team USA have traced those dramatic turns in her career.
Canby pride
Wiles, a Canby High alum, has become a full-on hometown bragging right, her name still sparking conversations at local ski clubs and coffee shops. Local station KPTV has followed her since her first Olympic appearance in 2014, and KOIN notes she has now made four U.S. Olympic teams and become one of the oldest Americans to win an Olympic alpine medal at about 33 years and seven months. Teammates say the bronze is a fitting payoff for years of rehab and relentless training, and Wiles told reporters she plans to spend the next few days with family before deciding what comes next in her racing career.
