First-Year Triton Steps Into His Olympic Moment

“I couldn’t believe it was real,” Chang said of the moment he learned he had secured his Olympic spot, while competing in Dubai. “It didn’t even register.”

During his first year at UC San Diego, Chang says managing his time and prioritizing rest have been essential as he juggles academics with the demands of high-level training and international travel. When he is on campus, that balance includes finding brief moments to recharge in familiar places, from grabbing a drink at Tapioca Express to shooting hoops at the RIMAC gym.

“Time management and sleep are really important,” Chang said. “You can’t really do anything without sleep.”

He added that being a student has influenced how he approaches his training and competition, particularly when it comes to preparation and analysis.

“I like to break things down bit by bit until I can process it,” he said. “That’s something I do with my schoolwork, too.”

As the opening ceremony approaches, the scale of the moment still feels surreal to Chang.

“It’s so cool to compete alongside guys I’ve only seen on TV since I was a kid,” he said. “It feels like my inner child’s dream is coming true.” 

Chang spoke with UC San Diego Today from Austria, where he has been training in the days leading up to the Games. His days there follow a steady rhythm: preparing his equipment the night before, getting to bed early when possible, then starting mornings with breakfast, music and a quick routine to wake up before heading to the mountain with his team. Training days typically include multiple runs on the course, sometimes switching between several pairs of skis depending on conditions, with brief breaks to warm up before heading back out. Afterward, it’s a meal, recovery and preparation to do it all again the next day.

Originally from Redding, California, Chang first clipped into skis at age 10 before joining a local ski club alongside his brothers. As his skills progressed, he realized he wanted to see how far he could push himself competitively. After placing among the top finishers at the high school level, Chang enrolled at Sugar Bowl Ski Academy in Lake Tahoe — one of the premier ski racing academies in the U.S. — during his junior and senior years of high school, where he was able to focus more intensively on training and competition. There, Chang developed the technical foundation and discipline required to compete at the international level.

Since then, Chang’s path has taken him across North America, Europe and Asia, chasing winter conditions year-round and competing in International Ski and Snowboard Federation-sanctioned events on some of the sport’s most demanding courses. He secured Olympic qualification at age 20, younger than many competitors in a discipline where athletes often peak later in their careers. 

Chang will compete during the Milan Cortina Games, Feb. 6-22, with coverage airing on NBC and Peacock. As the Games get underway, the UC San Diego community is invited to tune in, cheer him on and support a Triton representing the campus — and its global reach — on the Olympic stage.

Video loop featured at the top of this story is courtesy of International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Saalbach. Static image credit: Joe Pfeister