Justin was 3 years old in this photo. Little did I know then that I was holding a future world-champion snowboarder or an Olympic contender in Sochi, Russia in February 2014.

On January 9, 2007 Justin was named to the U. S. Team for the 2007 Snowboard World Championships from January 14th thru 20th, 2007, in Arosa, Switzerland.

On January 21, 2014, Justin was nominated for the U. S. Olympic Snowboarding Team by the U. S. Ski and Snowboard Association in Park City, Utah. The press release is below:

Additional Snowboarding Athletes Set For Sochi

PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 21) – Three additional slopestyle snowboarding athletes were nominated for the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. In addition, World Championship silver medalist Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) was nominated in alpine snowboarding. With the confirmation of quotas within snowboarding, the USSA added three snowboarders in slopestyle to round out the full team. The formal naming of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team by the United States Olympic Committee is set for Jan. 27.

HIGHLIGHTS

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association nominated three additional slopestyle snowboarding athletes to the debut Olympic Team.
The athletes qualified through the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix and were added to those announced previously.
Alpine snowboarding athlete Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) was also nominated to compete. Reiter placed second at last year’s World Championships and qualified through World Cup results.
Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, AK) was named in slopestyle to round out the men’s team. Stassel took a big win at Mammoth Mountain, the final location on the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix series.
Jessika Jenson (Rigby, ID) and Karly Shorr (Truckee, CA) and each landed multiple podiums throughout the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix series, solidifying their positions on the team.
The slopestyle and halfpipe athletes will be competing this week at the X Games in Aspen before departing for Sochi.
The U.S. Olympic Committee will formally name the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team on January 27.

2014 OLYMPIC HALFPIPE AND SLOPESTYLE NOMINATIONS
(new nominations are italicized)

Men’s Alpine Snowboarding
Justin Reiter, Steamboat Springs, CO (2/2/1981)

Men’s Halfpipe
Greg Bretz, Mammoth Lakes, CA (12/19/1990) *
Danny Davis, Truckee, CA (6/22/1988)
Taylor Gold, Steamboat Springs, CO (11/17/1993)
Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA (9/3/1986) *

Women’s Halfpipe
Kelly Clark, W. Dover, VT (7/26/1983) *
Kaitlyn Farrington, Bellevue, ID (12/18/1989)
Arielle Gold, Steamboat Springs, CO (5/4/1996)
Hannah Teter, Belmont, VT (1/27/1987) *

Men’s Slopestyle
Sage Kotsenburg, Park City, UT (7/27/1993)
Chas Guldemond, Reno, NV (4/22/1987)
Ryan Stassel, Anchorage, AK (10/23/1992)
Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA (9/3/1986)

Women’s Slopestyle
Jamie Anderson, S. Lake Tahoe, CA (9/13/1990)
Jessika Jensen, Rigby, ID (8/07/1991)
Karly Shorr, Truckee, CA (5/18/1994)
Ty Walker, Stowe, VT (3/03/1997)

QUOTES
Jeremy Forster, Director of Freeskiing and Snowboarding, USSA
We are very fortunate to be taking such a talented group of athletes to Sochi. Each of them have made clear through their performances during the Grand Prix qualifying series that they have the potential to land on the Olympic podium.

All nominations are subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tricia Byrnes, tbyrnes@ussa.org
http://ussnowboarding.com/news/additional-snowboarding-athletes-set-sochi

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Steamboat's Justin Reiter earns his shot at Olympics
By John F. RussellTuesday, January 21, 2014

Steamboat Springs — On Tuesday afternoon, Brenda Reiter’s phone rang while she was picking up mail at the post office near her home in the Virgin Islands.

It was her son Justin calling with a bit of good news. News Brenda had been waiting years to hear.

“My mom isn’t known for being quiet,” Justin said. “When I told her that I had made the U.S. Olympic team, she screamed and then she told everybody in the post office that her son had been named to the Olympic team.”

Justin Reiter wasn’t sure he was ever going to make that call.

Being part of the U.S. Olympic team is something he has dreamed about since he first strapped on a snowboard at age 9. It was something he dreamed about in 2006, then in 2010 when he was training, and then when he was recovering from a number of injuries in Steamboat Springs.

Several times, the 32-year-old rider was close to making the team, only to fall short down the stretch. Many times he spent his offseason recovering from injuries that eventually kept him off the Olympic roster.

“It’s been an incredibly long journey,” Reiter said. “I’ve fought, laughed, cried and sacrificed to get to this moment. Now the only thing I want to do is take the moment in and enjoy it.”

Reiter will be the only American representative in the Alpine snowboarding events at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which open Feb. 6 in Sochi, Russia.

The Alpine snowboarding events will open with the parallel giant slalom event Feb. 19, and the parallel slalom event Feb. 22. Reiter said he doesn’t have any expectations headed into the Games, but he wants to make the most out of his opportunity as an Olympian.

“It’s a pretty emotional moment for me, and I’m stoked,” Reiter said. “The thing I’m looking forward to the most is walking into opening ceremonies and knowing what that feels like.”

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966