Apparently anyone can be an Olympian. All you have to do is not fall.
Elizabeth Swaney is the freestyle skier who began trending after not doing one trick in the halfpipe competition. The 33-year-old, who was born in the United States but is part of Team Hungary, went down the halfpipe by going up and down each side while doing virtually no tricks. She reached little amplitude and did nothing with any sort of difficulty.
How'd she qualify for PyeongChang in the first place?
There are multiple stories detailing her journey. Long story short, Swaney spent the last two years traveling and competing in world cup qualifiers for Hungary, where her grandparents were born. She found a loophole where if she completed runs without falling, she could get enough points to qualify for the Olympic Games. No country gets to send more than four athletes to the event, and that gave Swaney an opportunity with Team Hungary.
Sure enough, Swaney didn't fall. Just like that, she became an Olympian.
She's not a medal winner, though.
She received last place in qualifying with a score of 31.40. It was more than 40 points behind the last skier to qualify for the final.
"I didn't qualify for finals so I'm really disappointed," Swaney told NBC.
Good for her, though, for achieving a life-long dream. When an opportunity presents itself, you always have to take it.
Watch her run (and listen how serious the Olympic Broadcasting Station announcers are during her run):
