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Olympians
Olympic Breeding Ground - Lowell Whiteman School combines athletics with academics
For Ryan St.Onge, the day in Europe had been long and exhausting. He was thousands of miles from home, and his homework was piling up by the hour. What’s a high-school kid to do? Relax, in Ryan’s case.
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Skating and Shooting - Steamboat a breeding ground for biathlon
Imagine skate-skiing full-speed with a rifle on your back. You stop, try to calm a pounding heart, and rapidly fire at five small targets. Instantly, you resume an all-out sprint. Welcome to winter biathlon, whose local practitioners might not have Olympic aspirations yet, but are heading in the right direction.
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Todd Lodwick - Living with Lodwick
Todd Lodwick made his Olympic debut in Lillehammer, Norway, at the 1994 Games at age 17. “I was a kid,” he says, adding that his parents were there, “wearing obnoxious stuff and waving signs.”
Still, Todd appreciates the sacrifices his family has made for his career. “We weren’t exactly coming from the Sanctuary to Howelsen,” he says. “My mom used to joke that the Winter Sports Club was the cheapest babysitting she could find – God bless my mother.”
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Johnny Spillane - Nordic Kindness: Spillane family wraps arms around Spillane’s Olympic aspiration
Standing in the finish area, trying to make sense of it all, Jim Spillane could barely fathom what was happening on that historic day in 2003. His son, Johnny, had just sprinted past the favorites to become the first American ever to win a World Nordic Combined championship, a landmark moment not only for the U.S. Ski Team, but also for Steamboat Springs.
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Bill DeMong - Down home with Bill DeMong
When he was 17, Bill Demong packed his bags in upstate New York and moved to Steamboat Springs to train with the U.S. Nordic Combined team. It turned out to be more than just a place to stay.
Not only did the amiable teenager develop into a world champion in the Yampa Valley, he also formed a lasting friendship with Dave and Lorraine MacDonald, who opened their ranch to him.
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Ryan St. Onge - Flying High with Ryan St. Onge
There’s no room for conventional thinking in freestyle aerials. It’s too much bother. Maybe that’s why Ryan St. Onge is the reigning world champion in the go-for-broke sport, where skiers twist and somersault 50 feet above the snow, knowing that the slightest miscalculation could mean a bone-shattering spill.
When he was 9, Ryan’s parents took him and his brother out of school to sail in the Caribbean for a year. Instead of studying from a math textbook, Ryan learned to use a sextant and compass, the tools mariners have used for ages to navigate by the stars.
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Michelle Gorgone - Meet Michelle: Alpine snowboarder Michelle Gorgone gunning for the Games
The turning point of her career was only months away, and Michelle Gorgone didn’t even know it. It was fall 2000, and the alpine snowboarder had come to Steamboat Springs from New Hampshire to transform herself into an Olympic contender. But first she had to find a way to finish a race. Like Bode Miller, she was known for winning or crashing, an approach that undermined her speed and gnawed at her nerves.
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Greg Rawlings - Advancing the Less-abled: Adaptive cross country team coach Greg Rawlings
When it comes to skiing, it's hard to outdo Greg Rawlings for versatility. Alpine. Cross Country. Snowboarding. Racing. Teaching. Coaching.
Over the years, the 40-year-old Steamboat Springs resident has done it all – which puts him in the perfect job these days.
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Todd Wilson - More Than a Legend: SSWSC Nordic combined coach Todd Wilson
After 17 years of coaching the Nordic team at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, Todd Wilson still feels like he doesn’t have a grip on the job. “It’s challenging to no end,” he says. “If you would have told me 18 years ago that I’d be here this long I would have laughed in your face.”
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Matt Ladley - Hoping for a ticket: Snowboarder Matt Ladley vying for Vancouver
For an 18-year-old snowboarder, what could be more stressful than trying to qualify for the Olympics? Don’t ask Matt Ladley.The Steamboat Springs resident says he’s hooked on the sport’s aesthetics, unable to separate pressure from fun. “If you’re not doing it for the love of the sport, then why do it?” he says.
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