Aerial skier competing in Beijing has Fort Wayne ties

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - An olympian competing in Beijing has family watching in The Fort.

Fort Wayne’s NBC reporter Karli VanCleave sat down with the grandparents of an aerial skier, and this morning, their grandson won his first Olympic gold medal on the mixed teams aerial competition.

23-year-old Justin Schoenefeld competed in the World Cup in Finland in November, where he placed second. Now, he’s competing in the Winter Olympics as a freestyle aerial skier for the first time.

His grandparents, Karen and Jerry Schoenefeld, say although Justin is from Lawrenceburg, most of his family is from The Fort. The two will join other family members watching Justin compete in Beijing, saying knowing their grandson is representing our country makes them proud.

They say they hope everyone in The Fort will be cheering Justin on as he will be in the aerial ski qualifiers Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

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