Pittsford native Chris Lillis has won another gold medal for Team USA in mixed team aerials, alongside first-time Olympians Kaila Kuhn, 22, and Connor Curran, 21. Lillis, 27, previously won gold in the same event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The victory caps a challenging week for the freestyle skiing champion. Severe weather caused the men’s aerials event to be delayed twice, and Lillis struggled early in the qualifying round before finishing eighth overall.
As part of the U.S. trio, however, he soared. The team secured first place with a score of 325.35, defending its Olympic title.
Steve Fuller, vice president of Bristol Mountain, said watching the hometown skier compete is inspiring for him and for others in the region.
“He is an incredible ambassador to the sport,” he said.
Bristol Mountain hosted a watch party at the Rocket Lodge during the men’s aerials, where fans viewed Lillis on a large projector against the backdrop of the mountain where he has skied since childhood.
Fuller said the whole Bristol community plays an essential role in developing elite athletes.
“The mountain has to be supportive behind them, to give them the facilities that they need,” he said. “It takes a lot of support [from] the coaches, the families too. It’s neat that we have that support structure here in Rochester, and all that dedication to be able to provide that to those athletes and to get them to the highest level.”
Fuller said he is proud to see several Olympians emerge from Bristol Mountain this year, including Liz Lemley.
“I call it a half-notch in our belt,” he said. “She wasn’t out of Bristol, but she spent quite a few years here training with us.”
Lemley, 20, won Olympic gold in women’s freestyle moguls. Though originally from Colorado, Lemley grew up in Westchester County.
The Bristol Mountain Aerial Training Facility is one of only three certified freestyle aerial training sites in the United States, according to Fuller. The others are in Lake Placid, and Park City, Utah.
That designation means a lot of Olympians pass through this Finger Lakes ski resort, including gold medalist Wang Xindi, who beat Lillis and all the other competitors in the men’s aerials this year, as well as his wife, Xu Mengtao, who won gold in the women’s competition.
Both Wang and Xu, along with bronze medalist Li Tianma, took Bronze in the mixed aerials.
Fuller said the Winter Olympics consistently boost interest in snow sports across the region.
"It brings awareness to the sport,” he said. “We’re all not going to be Olympians, but it does make people interested and want to learn how to ski, learn how to snowboard.”
Evie Haris watched the men’s aerials with her eight-year-old twins, John and James, who are just learning how to ski. She said seeing a local athlete compete on the Olympic stage means a lot to families in the area.
“It’s very rare,” said Haris. “As they get older, they'll realize that, but it's just great that they have this mountain here to train on.”
Her son John, new to the sport, but enthusiastic.
“I love skiing,” he said. “It's super fun for me. So I would probably go skiing every day if I could."
Fuller’s wife, Megan, said Lillis has fueled that excitement among young athletes.
“He makes it a point to always come back every summer to train with the kids, to spend time with them,” she said.
“He's an awesome guy.”
