Chris Lillis

Quick Facts

• Specialty: Men's Freestyle Skiing Aerials
• Parents: Bernie and Jamie Lillis; has two brothers—Jon Lillis (also an Olympic freestyle skier) and Michael "Mikey" Lillis (deceased 2017)
• Youngest man to win a FIS aerials world cup at age 17 in 2016
• Outside interests include teaching guitar and piano lessons to local students in Park City, Utah, and golfing

Biographical Information

Chris's journey in aerials began at Bristol Mountain in upstate New York, where he trained alongside his older brother, Jon, a 2017 world champion and 2018 Olympian. The Lillis family has deep roots in freestyle skiing, with all three brothers pursuing careers in the sport. At age 17, Chris became the youngest man ever to win a FIS aerials world cup when he claimed victory in Minsk in 2016. 

Chris is a world championship medalist, winning gold in the mixed team aerials event in both 2023 and 2025, silver in individual aerials in 2021, and bronze in mixed team aerials in 2021. At the 2025 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Lillis teamed with Kaila Kuhn and Quinn Dehlinger to defend the United States' world title with a dominant performance that totaled 344.63 points. Lillis delivered the clinching jump with a back double full-full-full that earned 125.34 points, the highest score of the competition.

Lillis made history at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 when he landed a quintuple-twisting triple flip during the mixed team aerials competition. This flip featuring five twists and three flips stands as the most difficult trick in acrobatic skiing. He became the first American since the late Jeret "Speedy" Peterson to successfully complete a quintuple in competition, landing the feat at the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. At Beijing 2022, Lillis also competed in the individual aerials event, finishing sixth.

The Lillis family experienced a profound tragedy in October 2017 when Chris's younger brother Michael, known as Mikey, died suddenly in his sleep at age 17. Mikey, an up-and-coming aerial skier training at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, had been on track to potentially join his brothers at the Olympics. Just one week after Mikey's funeral, Chris and Jon returned to competition in Finland, determined to honor their brother's memory by continuing to pursue their Olympic dreams. Jon competed at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 wearing a glass pendant containing Mikey's ashes and later wore Mikey's Team USA ski suit during the aerials finals. Chris has carried his brother's spirit with him throughout his career, dedicating his performances to Mikey's memory.

When not training or competing, Lillis gives back to his community by teaching guitar and piano lessons to local students in Park City, Utah, where he is based for training. He also returns regularly to Bristol Mountain, where he mentors young aerial skiers and distributes his old sponsored clothing to inspire the next generation of athletes. 

Olympic Experience

• 1-time Olympian; 1-time Olympic medalist (1 gold)
  • Olympic Games Beijing 2022, gold (Aerials Team - Mixed), 6th (Aerials - Men)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2025 – gold (Aerials Team - Mixed), 7th (Aerials - Men)
• Years of participation: Aerials - Men 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025; Aerials Team - Mixed 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025
• Medals: 4 (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
  • Gold – 2025 (Aerials Team - Mixed); 2023 (Aerials Team - Mixed)
  • Silver – 2021 (Aerials - Men)
  • Bronze – 2021 (Aerials Team - Mixed)