The Remarkable Rise of Caroline Chor – and What Her Story Means for Growing Ski Jumping in the USA
From her earliest days on the Ford Sayre ski jumps, it was clear that Caroline Chor brought something special to every practice. Even as a young athlete, she carried a rare mix of talent, focus, humility, and pure joy for the sport. She listened, worked hard, learned quickly, and showed up with the kind of steady positivity every coach hopes to see – quiet determination paired with a constant smile.
That early promise is now showing up in a big way on the national stage. This fall at the National Championships in Lake Placid, Caroline, still just 14, posted the longest jumps on the HS128 and earned 2nd place. She followed that with a 3rd-place finish on the HS100 and another 3rd-place finish in Nordic Combined. After the Large Hill event, Caroline’s mother texted this video of one of Caroline’s large hill jumps, and it was striking: the confidence, composure, and courage she displayed on a hill of that size, at that age, was extraordinary.
It’s natural that some people in the ski jumping world may feel a pang of frustration when they read about this success, knowing Caroline is a citizen of another country. Ford Sayre and other U.S. clubs work incredibly hard to develop athletes, and it’s easy to wish that every breakthrough star would ultimately represent Team USA. But Caroline’s story is bigger than any single flag – and it highlights something that matters deeply for the future of ski jumping in this country: great programs build great athletes, and great families help build great programs.
Caroline’s growth is inseparable from the extraordinary commitment of her family. Her father, Davin Chor – who holds three degrees from Harvard (PhD, AM & AB) and is a professor at the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business – and her mother, Mary-Ann Tan, a Montessori preschool teacher, have been unwavering supporters not only of Caroline, but of Ford Sayre as a whole. The Chor family consistently steps in to support coaches and athletes, contribute to hill maintenance, and help events run smoothly. Caroline’s brother, Christopher (17), and younger sister, Catherine (11) – an emerging talent herself – are also fixtures at the club, adding energy and strength to the program and community.
That kind of family support is not just admirable – it’s exactly what ski jumping clubs across the USA need more of if we want the sport to grow. Facilities don’t maintain themselves. Events don’t run themselves. Young athletes don’t thrive on coaching alone. Strong programs are built by whole communities – families who volunteer, encourage, show up consistently, and help create a culture where kids can dream big and then do the work to make it real. Caroline’s success is a reminder that when families invest in their local club, everyone benefits: the younger kids watching, the athletes training alongside them, the coaches trying to build something lasting, and the sport itself.
Caroline and her family are citizens of Singapore – a Asian country about half the size of Rhode Island and just 85 miles from the equator, making her rise as a winter athlete especially remarkable. And that, too, is part of why her story matters. Getting kids into ski jumping from countries that haven’t traditionally been involved is good for the athlete, good for the clubs that welcome them, and good for the sport globally. Ski jumping grows when it reaches new places, attracts new families, and inspires new generations to imagine what’s possible.
This month, Caroline and her father will travel to Norway, where she will train in Lillehammer, host of the Junior World Championships this winter, and compete in the Continental Cup in Notodden. Her trajectory in both ski jumping and Nordic Combined continues to accelerate, and she is already reshaping expectations for what an athlete her age can accomplish.
Caroline’s rise reflects her own exceptional dedication, but it also reflects what can happen when a U.S. ski club has the support of an all-in family – one that lifts up not only their child, but the entire program around her. That is the standard. That is the model. And if Ford Sayre, and ski jumping clubs across the US, attract and cultivate more families like Caroline’s, we will grow the sport, strengthen our communities, and develop more successful young ski jumpers for years to come.
Caroline, we are proud of you and grateful for the example you and your family set, both on and off the hill.
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