Tyler Jewell is competing in the Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver in snowboarding.
Tyler Jewell made his Olympic debut in 2006, but in the lead-up to the Torino Games, he had to deal with some uncertainty regarding his Olympic status. That uncertainty arose when 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Chris Klug filed a grievance, believing that U.S. Snowboarding officials had misinterpreted the team selection criteria. The criteria stated that if no U.S. athlete placed in the top four at a pre-Olympic World Cup in 2005-06, then the U.S. team would only send one athlete in men's parallel giant slalom. And in that case, the lone spot would be based on the average of each potential rider's best two "results." But the criteria did not specify the precise meaning of "results," leaving the door open to some debate as to who belonged on the team. Eventually Jewell's spot was confirmed, and he finished 11th in parallel giant slalom at the Torino Games.
Despite the fact that he was raised in what he describes as an "upper-middle class" family, Jewell has had to struggle to fund his snowboarding career. As he explains it, his father, Ed, a vascular surgeon, "was quite strict about wanting me to do it on my own." At the peak of his struggles, around 2003 or 2004, Jewell recalls that "literally the bottom dropped out." After losing the job he had with Home Depot, he also found out that he had lost his spot on the U.S. snowboarding World Cup roster. "That's when I was rock bottom a little bit where I was living off PowerBars that a friend gave me and eating those for three meals a day and doing what I could living out of my car and training," Jewell says. Jewell is quick to point out that his struggles weren't truly dire, but they did have potential consequences. "It wasn't like I was going to be homeless. I could always go home, but if I went home then the dream was over," he says. Economic salvation came in an unlikely form: the opportunity to work at a friend's juice and sausage stand at the state fair in New Mexico. "I ended up walking with enough money to make it through my season," Jewell says. "Then I got myself back on the team, and it went from there."
Jewell was a top junior rider before taking time away from the sport to pursue an education degree at Boston College. While at Boston College, he played four years of varsity lacrosse, from 1996-99. After college, he decided to devote himself to snowboarding full-time.
Jewell is the third-youngest of four brothers, which, he recalls, was a significant task for his mother, Jean, who was a full-time mom. "We beat the hell out of each other and drove her mad," he says. "She's the best. She gave her life to give us life." After all four brothers were fully grown, Jean went back to school and graduated from Wellesley College summa cum laude.
Coincidentally, Jewell's hometown of Sudbury, Massachusetts, is the hometown of Michelle Gorgone, who was also a 2006 Olympian in parallel giant slalom. "Michelle and I come from the same hometown, and I don't have any explanation for it other than it must be something in the water," Jewell says. "It's pretty amazing. And Michelle and I are pretty similar in the way that we're gritty. You know, we just work hard and we get our job done."
Tyler Jewell made his Olympic debut in 2006, but in the lead-up to the Torino Games, he had to deal with some uncertainty regarding his Olympic status. That uncertainty arose when 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Chris Klug filed a grievance, believing that U.S. Snowboarding officials had misinterpreted the team selection criteria. The criteria stated that if no U.S. athlete placed in the top four at a pre-Olympic World Cup in 2005-06, then the U.S. team would only send one athlete in men's parallel giant slalom. And in that case, the lone spot would be based on the average of each potential rider's best two "results." But the criteria did not specify the precise meaning of "results," leaving the door open to some debate as to who belonged on the team. Eventually Jewell's spot was confirmed, and he finished 11th in parallel giant slalom at the Torino Games.
Despite the fact that he was raised in what he describes as an "upper-middle class" family, Jewell has had to struggle to fund his snowboarding career. As he explains it, his father, Ed, a vascular surgeon, "was quite strict about wanting me to do it on my own." At the peak of his struggles, around 2003 or 2004, Jewell recalls that "literally the bottom dropped out." After losing the job he had with Home Depot, he also found out that he had lost his spot on the U.S. snowboarding World Cup roster. "That's when I was rock bottom a little bit where I was living off PowerBars that a friend gave me and eating those for three meals a day and doing what I could living out of my car and training," Jewell says. Jewell is quick to point out that his struggles weren't truly dire, but they did have potential consequences. "It wasn't like I was going to be homeless. I could always go home, but if I went home then the dream was over," he says. Economic salvation came in an unlikely form: the opportunity to work at a friend's juice and sausage stand at the state fair in New Mexico. "I ended up walking with enough money to make it through my season," Jewell says. "Then I got myself back on the team, and it went from there."
Jewell was a top junior rider before taking time away from the sport to pursue an education degree at Boston College. While at Boston College, he played four years of varsity lacrosse, from 1996-99. After college, he decided to devote himself to snowboarding full-time.
Jewell is the third-youngest of four brothers, which, he recalls, was a significant task for his mother, Jean, who was a full-time mom. "We beat the hell out of each other and drove her mad," he says. "She's the best. She gave her life to give us life." After all four brothers were fully grown, Jean went back to school and graduated from Wellesley College summa cum laude.
Coincidentally, Jewell's hometown of Sudbury, Massachusetts, is the hometown of Michelle Gorgone, who was also a 2006 Olympian in parallel giant slalom. "Michelle and I come from the same hometown, and I don't have any explanation for it other than it must be something in the water," Jewell says. "It's pretty amazing. And Michelle and I are pretty similar in the way that we're gritty. You know, we just work hard and we get our job done."
Check out Tyler Jewell hot pics and Tyler Jewell sexy photos.
Tyler Jewell Tyler Jewell Tyler Jewell Tyler Jewell Tyler Jewell Tyler Jewell Tyler Jewell Pictures
SEE ALL TYLER JEWELL PICTURES (7)