The following article was originally printed in the October 2026 Issue of Slush. To get more articles and subscribe, click here.

By: Stan Leveille 

DOB: 8/14/2009 

SPONSORS: Arbor, 686, Monster Energy, Copper Mountain

STANCE:  Regular

At 17, Colorado’s Lily Dhawornvej has already put together the kind of résumé that usually requires a much longer introduction. An X Games bronze at 15, an Olympic debut at 16, a Junior World Championship and, perhaps most absurdly, the 2026 FIS Slopestyle Crystal Globe, becoming the youngest woman ever to win it.

You would not necessarily know any of that from talking to her. Dhawornvej is direct, no-frills and seemingly uninterested in making much of a fuss about any of it. Her first World Cup podium was “kind of a surprise.” The Olympics were “honestly really chill.” Her approach to competing is basically to go out, do her best and see what happens. There is no bullshit to it, which might be part of why things are moving so quickly. She is focused, she likes snowboarding, and at the moment she is very, very good at it.

First of all, congrats. You’ve had a pretty wild year. I remember first clocking you at some contest, and it felt like within a year you were at the Olympics. Who were some of your inspirations when you were younger? Was there somebody you were trying to ride like, or someone who first made you think, “I like the way this person snowboards”?

When I was younger, I always looked up to my brother, Caleb, who I thought was really cool for snowboarding. Other than that, some of the pros I really looked up to were Zoe [Sadowski-Synnott] and Rene [Rinnekangas].

You’ve had a pretty wild couple of years. Is there one moment that still feels surreal when you look back on how quickly everything has happened?

Honestly, probably my second place in LAAX. That was just kind of an insane comp to me, and it was really exciting to be able to get a World Cup podium.

Going into that contest, did you feel confident that could happen, or was it a surprise?

It was honestly kind of a surprise. I kind of just go out there and do my best and see what happens.

Can you run me through how you got onto the U.S. team and what the road to the Olympics looked like for you?

I got on the U.S. team a few years ago through the qualifying comps. A year after I got on the team, I got on the pro team from making finals in two World Cups. From there, I just kept progressing, kept doing more comps and eventually made the Olympic team.

Once you actually got to the Olympics, was there anything that surprised you? Was there a moment where you were like, “What the fuck, I’m at the Olympics”?

It was honestly really chill. It was kind of just the same vibe as a normal World Cup, which was really nice.

You’ve gone from junior contests to competing against riders you’ve probably watched for years. Was there ever any imposter syndrome, like, “I can’t believe I’m riding with these people,” or did it feel pretty natural?

Honestly, yeah. My first World Cup, I got in because I was an alternate, and I just thought it was so insane. The people I was competing against were all the big dogs that I used to look up to.

At that point, was your mentality more, “Just get through this,” or was there already a part of you thinking, “I want to beat these girls”?

I think at that point I wasn’t really like, “I want to beat them.” I was like, “I want to impress them. I want to show them that I can snowboard.”

Has your relationship with competing changed at all? Would you say you’re super competitive, or are contests more just one piece of why you snowboard?

I feel like sometimes I’m a competitive person, but overall it’s just a really fun environment to be in with all the athletes.

The U.S. women’s slope team is definitely on the younger side right now. Do you feel like there’s a lot of camaraderie among you? Is it nice having a younger squad coming up together?

Oh, yeah. I’m super hyped that Jess is on the team. She’s a great boarder, and I think she’s going to do really well this year at all the comps, so I’m excited for that.

I remember talking to Pat McCarthy, and I think he mentioned a trip where you rode Mount Baker with him. Baker is about as different from slopestyle as you can get. What was that experience like?

I rode pow when I was super young, but then I got super into park boarding. So that powder experience was kind of like a first. It was definitely really difficult. It’s way different than a normal slopestyle course that I’m used to.

When you enter terrain like that, is your contest brain still there, or does that part of your brain kind of shut off?

For the backcountry jumps, I feel like my park mind is there, but the powder is a whole new element. It’s just such different riding.

Did riding somewhere like Baker trigger any bucket-list ideas or make you want to explore more outside of the contest world?

Oh, definitely. It was super fun, and I love riding powder, so I definitely want to do more of that in the future.

Any locations in mind?

Honestly, not too much yet, but I see all those helicopter trips. That’s some stuff that I think would be really cool.

Do you have any advice for girls or younger riders who are looking to take professional snowboarding more seriously? Maybe something that has helped you or some advice you’ve gotten along the way?

I think it’s an amazing sport, and it’s a big part of my life. If you love it, keep doing it.

Your last couple of years have moved pretty quickly, and I imagine there have been moments where you’re just trying to keep up with where snowboarding has taken you. Now that you’ve entered this arena, do you have any specific goals for the coming season, or is it more about maintaining the mentality that got you here?

I’m definitely looking to try to progress a little more, but then again, the sport, especially women’s snowboarding, is progressing so quickly right now.

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