Tahoe Olympians

COMPILED BY PRIYA HUTNER | PHOTOS COURTESY TEAM USA

The Winter Games Opening Ceremony is set for Feb. 4, and the Tahoe-Reno region is sending local athletes in pursuit of Gold to Beijing, China, for the XXIV Winter Olympic Games. For details on the Olympics and the athletes, visit olympic.org or teamusa.org. The Winter Games will be aired on NBC, with coverage also available on the Olympic Channel at olympicchannel.com.

Alpine skiing (sometimes referred to as downhill skiing) is one of the signature competitions at the Winter Olympics. Competitors regularly reach speeds of up to 152 km/h (95 mph), all while navigating a winding course full of sharp turns and soaring jumps. There are 11 events in the Alpine competition at the Games, with 33 medals up for grabs.

Cross-country skiing is one of the original Winter Olympic sports, having been first contested at the inaugural Winter Games in 1924. The only cross-country events held at those Games in Chamonix were the men’s 50km and 18km competitions, but there will be 12 events in the competition in Beijing, with 36 medals to be won.

After first featuring as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Calgary Games, Freestyle Skiing was introduced to the Winter Olympic in 1992, with ski cross, halfpipe and slope-style added to the competition format over the years. There are 13 events in freestyle skiing at Beijing 2022, including two new events: men’s and women’s freestyle skiing Big Air and mixed team freestyle skiing aerials.

Snowboarding is one of the newer events at the Winter Olympics, having been first included at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. There are 11 events in the snowboard competition at Beijing 2022, including mixed team snowboard cross, which will be making its Winter Olympic debut after featuring at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

US Alpine Ski Team spring training at Mammoth Mountain

Age: 31 Sport: Snowboarding Event/Discipline: Slopestyle | Big Air Hometown: South Lake Tahoe Home Mountain/Team: Sierra-at-Tahoe Olympic Experience: 2014, 2018 About: Anderson learned to snowboard at Sierra-at-Tahoe when she was 9 years old. Anderson has garnered 19 career medals and is the most decorated woman in the history of Winter X Games snowboarding history. She has back-toback slopestyle wins plus a big air silver medal from the 2018 Olympics. The 31-year-old has always been known for her consistency and technicality; her progressive bag of tricks now includes several variations of double corks. Anderson is coming off a 2020-21 season in which she swept the slopestyle and big air events at the X Games and she’ll have medal opportunities in both those disciplines at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Age: 29 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Downhill Hometown: Truckee Home Mountain/Team: Team Palisades Tahoe Olympic Experience: 2018 About: Bennett is ranked 7th in the world in downhill. When he is off the slopes, he enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, backpacking, mountain biking and golfing.

Note: The athletes featured here were officially named to Team USA as of press time for this edition. Some additional athletes may be added to the team before the start of the Games. Information on athlete bios was provided by Team USA, U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboard Team.

Age: 33 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Downhill | Super G Hometown: Alpine Meadows Home Mountain/Team: Team Palisades Tahoe Olympic Experience: 2014 z About: Ganong is a 2015 World Championship silver medalist. When he isn’t on the slopes, he loves mountain biking, hiking, backpacking and surfing. He also enjoys spending time on Lake Tahoe, where he sails, paddleboards, swims and boats. He loves to cook delicious food and helps run Pacific Crest Coffee Co. in Truckee.

Age: 22 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Super-G | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Parallel Mixed Team Hometown: Strawberry Home Mountain/Team: Palisades Tahoe Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Cashman’s most notable athletic accomplishments are: 4th World Juniors alpine combined, 1st U.S. National Giant Slalom and third in the NorAm Cup overall standings. She plays the guitar and ukulele. When she’s not skiing, she fly fishes, paddleboards, hunts, cooks, road bikes and dirt bikes.

Age: 25 Sport: Cross-Country Skiing Event/Discipline: Cross-Country Cross Freestyle | Sprint Classic | 5-Kilometer Freestyle | Nordic Mixed Team Hometown: Truckee Team: Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Halvorsen was introduced to skiing at 2 years old while growing up in Truckee. She started racing at age 11 and has competed in four Junior Nationals, three U18 Nations’ Cups and the Winter Youth Olympic Games. Halvorsen currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska. In 2019 she was hit by a car and suffered multiple injuries including a traumatic brain injury.

Hannah enjoys reading. She volunteers Sunday mornings at Bean’s Café, a homeless shelter in Anchorage.

Age: 24 years Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Giant Slalom | Slalom Hometown: San Francisco Home Mountain/Team: Palisades Tahoe, Burke Mountain Academy Team Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: O’Brien had the best season of her career in 202021, grabbing a career-best ninth in slalom and a top 10 in the giant slalom at the World Championships. She ended up ranked 15th in giant slalom on the World Cup start list. When she is not skiing or studying, she loves hiking, biking, watching documentaries and collaging. She is also involved with Voice in Sport, a community to elevate women’s voices in sport. O’Brien is majoring in economics and learning German at Dartmouth.

Age: 21 Sport: Cross-Country Skiing Event/Discipline: Freestyle Sprint Home: Tahoe City Home Mountain/Team: Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Schoonmaker is the 2022 U.S. Freestyle Sprint Champion. He was named to the National Collegiate AllAcademic Ski Team by the U.S. Collegiate Ski Coaches Association. He finished second in the freestyle and seventh in the classic races at the RMISA Invitational in Utah. When he is not skiing, you might find him swinging from a Donner Lake rope swing, hanging out with friends or playing basketball.

Age: 24 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Slalom | Giant Slalom Hometown: Gresham, Ore. Home Mountain/Team: Sugar Bowl Academy Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Winters scored his first national championship title, landing on the top of the podium in alpine combined at Sugarloaf, Maine. This was followed by his second national title in slalom at Waterville Valley, N.H. He recently earned his pilot’s license.

Age: 31 Sport: Freestyle skiing Event/ Discipline: Freeski Pro Halfpipe Hometown: Reno, Nev. Olympic Experience: 2014, 2018 About: Wise is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist. He has won six Grand Prix, six World Cups, three X Games and one Freeski World Championship in his skiing career. Wise, a father of two, and Reno native began skiing at age 3. He claimed his first national title at age 15 and turned pro three years later.

DAY PASS | $23 WEEK PASS | $45 INDIVIDUAL RATES | from $49-$78/month

FAMILY OF 2 | $140/month

• Members have access to both locations • Truckee facility features 27,500 square feet of fitness, and rock climbing. • Incline Village features 12,000 square feet of fitness and rock climbing • Both facilities have group fitness, fiber internet, and state of the art locker rooms!