# Ashley Caldwell
**Ashley Caldwell** (born 1993 in [Ashburn, Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashburn-virginia)) is an American freestyle skier who competes in aerials and won gold in the inaugural Olympic mixed team aerials event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) • [2](https://www.axios.com/2022/02/10/team-usa-wins-gold-mixed-team-aerials) A four-time Olympian, she competed at Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, and Beijing 2022, and she is the only woman to have landed "The Daddy," a quadruple-twisting triple backflip, in competition.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) • [3](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Ashburn, Virginia; 170 cm / 66 kg[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) |
| Olympic record | 2010: 10th, 2014: 10th, 2018: 17th, 2022: 4th in women's aerials; gold in mixed team aerials 2022[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) |
| Signature trick | "The Daddy," a quadruple-twisting triple backflip; first woman and only woman to land it in competition[3](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell) |
| World championships | 4 medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze); 2017 world champion in women's aerials at Sierra Nevada[4](https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ashley-caldwell) |
| World Cup | 6 wins, 19 podiums, 2016 World Cup champion; 5-time U.S. national champion[3](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell) |
| Personal | Wife of Olympic teammate Justin Schoenefeld; resides in Park City, Utah[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) • [3](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell) |
## Background
Caldwell trained in gymnastics for 11 years and was inspired to try aerials after watching the 2006 Winter Games in Turin; her mother suggested she combine her love of skiing with gymnastics.[4](https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ashley-caldwell) • [5](https://www.nbcsports.com/on-her-turf/news/aerial-skier-ashley-caldwell-embraces-fear-prepares-to-conquer-it-in-beijing) At 5'7" (170 cm) and 13 years old, she judged herself too tall for Olympic gymnastics and moved to the snow.[6](https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/2022/01/26/ashley-caldwell/) She joined the Elite Aerial Development Program before making the U.S. Ski & [Snowboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/snowboard) team in 2010.[3](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell)
## Olympic career
Caldwell made her Olympic debut at Vancouver 2010 at age 16, finishing 10th in women's aerials, and placed 10th again at Sochi 2014.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) Between the first two Games she missed a full two years of training after tearing the anterior cruciate ligaments in both knees.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/virginia-native-ashley-caldwell-lands-in-10th-in-freestyle-aerials/2014/02/14/8c7fb462-95b7-11e3-ae45-458927ccedb6_story.html) At Sochi she posted the highest score of the women's qualifying with a full-full-full triple somersault, then failed to land the same trick in the finals and finished 10th.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/virginia-native-ashley-caldwell-lands-in-10th-in-freestyle-aerials/2014/02/14/8c7fb462-95b7-11e3-ae45-458927ccedb6_story.html)
She placed 17th at PyeongChang 2018, where she planned to attempt the Daddy, a trick previously reserved for male competitors.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/gender-identity/at-pyeongchang-aerialist-ashley-caldwell-will-attempt-a-trick-usually-reserved-for-men/)
**Beijing 2022.** In the mixed team aerials event, which made its Olympic debut that year, Caldwell teamed with Justin Schoenefeld and Chris Lillis. The United States scored 338.34 to beat China and third-place Canada, winning the country's first Olympic gold in an aerials event since [Nikki Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikki-stone) in 1998.[2](https://www.axios.com/2022/02/10/team-usa-wins-gold-mixed-team-aerials) • [9](https://www.elf.agency/news/2022/2/12/winning-mixed-team-aerials-gold-caldwell-lillis-and-schoenfield-make-olympic-history) In the individual women's aerials she finished 4th.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948)
## The Daddy and pushing the limits
At the 2017 world championships in [Sierra Nevada](https://www.edgepedia.org/sierra-nevada), Spain, Caldwell became the first woman to land the Daddy, a triple backflip with four full twists, and the jump earned her the world title, making her the first American woman to win a world aerials title in more than two decades.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/gender-identity/at-pyeongchang-aerialist-ashley-caldwell-will-attempt-a-trick-usually-reserved-for-men/) • [10](https://suny-empire.sunyempire.edu/web-archive/news/2018/ashley-caldwell-14-named-to-third-us-winter-olympic-team-.php) The trick launches off a 14-foot jump at speeds approaching 45 miles per hour and completes three backflips with four full twists in about three seconds, roughly 60 feet above the slope.[11](https://www.cpr.org/2018/02/13/aerials-skier-ashley-caldwells-bold-move-a-quadruple-twisting-triple-flip/) • [14](https://www.fis-ski.com/freestyle/news/moguls-aerials-2025-26/aerials-101-understanding-aerials-and-aerials-mixed-team) U.S. Ski & Snowboard credits her with a world record for the hardest acrobatic trick ever landed by a female.[3](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell)
She described her approach as "Why win with less when you can win with more?", and pushed for women's training to match the men's difficulty rather than accept a lower ceiling.[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/they-told-aerialist-ashley-caldwell-to-play-it-safer-but-i-didnt-really-listen-to-them/2018/01/26/65ffd9be-01d5-11e8-8acf-ad2991367d9d_story.html)
## Later career
Caldwell won two medals at the 2021 world championships in Almaty, silver in women's aerials and bronze in the mixed team event, and added a second team gold at Bakuriani in 2023, where she placed 10th in the individual event.[4](https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ashley-caldwell) She has not competed since the 2023 World Championships; after giving birth to her first child in July, she decided the logistics of qualifying for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games were not feasible.[13](https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/freestyle-skiing-milan-cortina-2026-whats-happened-since-beijing-moguls-aerials-ski-cross)
## References
1. [Ashley Caldwell, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/118948)
2. [Team USA wins gold in mixed team aerials, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2022/02/10/team-usa-wins-gold-mixed-team-aerials)
3. [Ashley Caldwell, U.S. Ski & Snowboard](https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/ashley-caldwell)
4. [Ashley Caldwell, Team USA profile](https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ashley-caldwell)
5. [Aerial skier Ashley Caldwell embraces fear, NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/on-her-turf/news/aerial-skier-ashley-caldwell-embraces-fear-prepares-to-conquer-it-in-beijing)
6. [How Growing Up in NoVA Led this Freestyle Skiier to Her Fourth Olympics, Northern Virginia Magazine](https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/2022/01/26/ashley-caldwell/)
7. [Virginia native Ashley Caldwell lands in 10th in freestyle aerials, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/virginia-native-ashley-caldwell-lands-in-10th-in-freestyle-aerials/2014/02/14/8c7fb462-95b7-11e3-ae45-458927ccedb6_story.html)
8. [At PyeongChang, aerialist Ashley Caldwell will attempt a trick usually reserved for men, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/gender-identity/at-pyeongchang-aerialist-ashley-caldwell-will-attempt-a-trick-usually-reserved-for-men/)
9. [Winning Mixed Team Aerials Gold, Caldwell, Lillis and Schoenfield Make Olympic History, Elf Agency](https://www.elf.agency/news/2022/2/12/winning-mixed-team-aerials-gold-caldwell-lillis-and-schoenfield-make-olympic-history)
10. [Ashley Caldwell '14 Named to Third US Winter Olympic Team, Empire State University](https://suny-empire.sunyempire.edu/web-archive/news/2018/ashley-caldwell-14-named-to-third-us-winter-olympic-team-.php)
11. [Aerials Skier Ashley Caldwell's 'Bold Move': A Quadruple-Twisting Triple Flip, CPR](https://www.cpr.org/2018/02/13/aerials-skier-ashley-caldwells-bold-move-a-quadruple-twisting-triple-flip/)
12. [They told aerialist Ashley Caldwell to play it safer, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/they-told-aerialist-ashley-caldwell-to-play-it-safer-but-i-didnt-really-listen-to-them/2018/01/26/65ffd9be-01d5-11e8-8acf-ad2991367d9d_story.html)
13. [Olympic Freestyle Skiing 2026 Overview, NBC Olympics](https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/freestyle-skiing-milan-cortina-2026-whats-happened-since-beijing-moguls-aerials-ski-cross)
14. [Aerials 101: Understanding Aerials and Aerials Mixed Team](https://www.fis-ski.com/freestyle/news/moguls-aerials-2025-26/aerials-101-understanding-aerials-and-aerials-mixed-team)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Winter and ice sports › Freestyle skiing and snowboarding › Freestyle skiing › Freestyle skiers › Aerial skiers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license