It has been eight years since Tommy Ford competed in the Winter Olympics, and this time around, he is expecting a much different experience.

The 28-year-old alpine skier from Bend raced in the 2010 Vancouver Games, but he stayed there only a few days, spending little more time at the Olympic site than it took to race in the giant slalom.

“That experience was a whirlwind,” Ford recalled recently.

It’s been a different story at the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea. During the last week, Ford enjoyed the opening ceremonies and the full, rich experience of being an athlete at the Olympics. He is set to race in the men’s giant slalom on Sunday — Saturday evening Pacific time.

“We’re going for a little longer, which I’m glad to do, and be able to take my time and explore and meet more people,” Ford said during a phone interview before leaving for South Korea. “Just kind of take in the whole feel of the games and be a part of it, and just enjoy being there and take advantage of the opportunity.”

While he is considered a long shot to win a medal in giant slalom, a top-10 finish is a possibility for Ford, who placed 10th at a World Cup giant slalom race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December. He also placed in the top 30 in two other World Cup giant slalom races this season.

Ford — an eight-time national champion who finished 26th at the Vancouver Games — missed the entire 2013-14 racing season, including the 2014 Sochi Olympics, after fracturing his right femur while skiing in the French Alps in January 2013. He was somehow thrown from his skis on a hard turn and he struck a tree.

Ford’s surgeons inserted a metal rod that ran the full length of the femur, from hip to knee. He was on crutches for five months, and the rod was removed in December 2013, nearly a year after the accident.

“Just watching ski racing was tough to do (during the recovery),” Ford recalled. “There were some tough moments in there, but it all added up to some fun things later on. It was hard to not participate. I was kind of removed from it and just didn’t want to be reminded of it all the time.”

Ford returned to racing in 2014-15, and he boasted three top-15 giant slalom finishes in World Cup competition last season in Europe.

But Ford does not necessarily derive any extra motivation from missing out on Sochi.

“For me, the games aren’t like a huge focus,” Ford said. “It’s definitely an awesome event. It’s really cool to be a part of it. But the World Cup season happens every year, and the Olympics just happen to be a part of it every four years. Last time (for the 2014 Games) I had a big injury that I needed to recover from, and I learned a lot during that whole process, and continue to. It’s kind of crazy that it’s been eight years. Time has gone by.”

Ford has come a long way from performing ski tucks in front of the television as a little boy growing up in Bend, trying to impersonate Austrian alpine great Hermann Maier, according to his mother, Mary Ellen Ford.

A graduate of Summit High School, Ford grew up racing with the hometown Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation after his father, Mark Ford, introduced him to the slopes of Bachelor. Tommy was just 2.

Both of Ford’s parents are former ski racers and coaches. Mary Ellen coached for 
MBSEF when Tommy was a kid, and Mark raced for the U.S. Ski Team in the late 1960s and early ’70s. (Ford said both of his parents are in South Korea to watch him race Sunday.)

By age 6, Ford was racing with his older brother Tyson.

In 2006, at age 16, Ford earned four gold medals at the Junior Olympics. Soon after, he was selected for the U.S. Alpine Development Team.

While Ford has been on the U.S. Ski Team for more than 10 years, this season was the first in which he was named to the “A” Team, which features the country’s top skiers. Before that he was on the “B” team, and for a couple of seasons he was forced to fund himself to continue ski racing — he even created a GoFundMe page, enabling his fans to donate to help keep his skiing career alive.

“It was definitely frustrating, but also a good learning experience, because it inspired me to connect more with my following and get the experience of fundraising,” Ford said. “There are many other athletes who are working to fund themselves, and racing the World Cup and making the Olympics.”

Ford grew up skiing with MBSEF along with current U.S. teammate Laurenne Ross, the Bend skier who is expected to race in the women’s super-G in Pyeongchang on Saturday (Friday evening Pacific time). He said he and Ross have been dating for more than two years, connected by their ski racing careers and their love of the outdoors in Central Oregon.

After coming back from his leg injury, Ford was able to help Ross in her recovery from a devastating injury, ACL and meniscus tears suffered less than a year ago.

“It’s been so nice to have him behind me and have him supporting me,” Ross said during a Skype interview before leaving for South Korea. “Just to have him give me advice and help me understand the process, and help me to trust myself. Just having him as support was really helpful and super important to me.”

Ford said he and Ross, 29, have known each other since they were 7 years old. While the men’s and women’s U.S. Ski Teams typically compete in separate locations on the World Cup circuit — sometimes half a world apart — they are together in Pyeongchang during the Olympics.

“It’s definitely nice that we both understand the schedule, the travel, and the time away,” Ford said. “But it also helps that we’re pretty close and we can travel and see each other at least once a month … and have a training partner in the summer. We talk a little about it here and there, like different approaches (to racing). We rarely are in the same place actually skiing together. But she’s always a good exploration partner.”

Ford is expected to compete in this weekend’s giant slalom along with U.S. teammates Ted Ligety — a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Park City, Utah — and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, of Starksboro, Vermont.

Ford said he has been working on staying more consistent in his giant slalom turns, but he is also focusing on the bigger picture of simply having fun while traveling and ski racing.

“Being less stressed out and enjoying where I am, enjoying the sport of skiing,” he said. “And continuing to be open to meeting new people and being connected.”

The Olympics might just be the best place for that.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com