Winter Olympic Moments
01/27/2026 02:41PM ● By Eugene Buchanan
Image courtesy of Ben Berend.
A select sampling of Steamboat Springs from past Winter Olympics.
1932 John Steele becomes the first skier from Steamboat Springs to compete in the Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
1948 Steamboat’s Gordy Wren becomes the first American to qualify for all four Olympic skiing disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom and downhill) in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
1964 Buddy Werner, the American Alpine racer who broke the European domination of the sport, is killed in an avalanche in Switzerland; Billy Kidd wins slalom silver in Innsbruck, Austria.
1984 Former SSWSC Alpine program director Deb Armstrong wins giant slalom gold in the Sarajevo Olympics, becoming first U.S. woman to win an Alpine gold in 32 years.
1992 Nelson Carmichael wins bronze in moguls in Albertville, France; Lowell Whiteman School (now Steamboat Mountain School) student Ryan Heckman competes in Nordic combined; SSWSC athlete Nick Cleaver competes in moguls.
1994 In Norway’s Lillehammer Games, SSWSC athlete Nick Cleaver competes in moguls, Randy Weber competes in special jumping, Dave Jarrett, Ryan Heckman, Todd Lodwick compete in Nordic combined, and Julien Castellini competes in Alpine.
1998 Phoebe Mills (1988 Summer Games bronze medalist on balance beam) coaches Shannon Dunn to the bronze medal in halfpipe in the Nagano Olympics; Randy Weber competes in special jumping; Dave Jarrett, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick compete in Nordic combined; Sacha Gros, Linus Vaitkus compete in Alpine.
2002 Travis Mayer wins silver in moguls in Salt Lake City; Caroline Lalive places seventh in Alpine combined; Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick place fourth in team event in Nordic combined; Clint Jones, Tommy Schwall compete in special jumping; Michelle Gorgone competes in snowboard giant slalom.
2006 Ryan St. Onge competes in aerials in the Torino Games; Travis Mayer takes seventh in
moguls; Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick place seventh in team event in Nordic combined; Clint Jones, Tommy Schwall compete in special jumping; Michelle Gorgone competes in snowboard giant slalom.
2010 Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong and Utah native Brett Camerota win silver medal in Nordic combined team event in the Vancouver Games; Johnny Spillane (in his fourth and final Olympics) goes on to win two more silvers in the normal and large hill events, with Billy Demong winning gold in large hill.
2014 Todd Lodwick competes in historic sixth Winter Olympics at Sochi Games; Taylor Fletcher joins Nordic combined team to take sixth; Vic Wild wins two golds in Alpine snowboarding.
2018 Brothers Taylor and Bryan Fletcher compete in Nordic combined in PyeongChang, South Korea; Jarryd Hughes takes silver in snowboard cross; Arielle Gold wins bronze in snowboarding; coached by Steamboat Olympian Justin Reiter, Ester Ledecká wins gold in both Alpine snowboarding and skiing; Steamboat born and raised Ben Berend competes in Nordic combined team relay.
2022 Jaelin Kauf wins silver in moguls in Beijing; Taylor Fletcher competes in Nordic combined in fourth and final Olympics; in all, 13 athletes with Steamboat ties compete.
A select sampling of Steamboat Springs from past Winter Olympics.
1932 John Steele becomes the first skier from Steamboat Springs to compete in the Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
1948 Steamboat’s Gordy Wren becomes the first American to qualify for all four Olympic skiing disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom and downhill) in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
1964 Buddy Werner, the American Alpine racer who broke the European domination of the sport, is killed in an avalanche in Switzerland; Billy Kidd wins slalom silver in Innsbruck, Austria.
1984 Former SSWSC Alpine program director Deb Armstrong wins giant slalom gold in the Sarajevo Olympics, becoming first U.S. woman to win an Alpine gold in 32 years.
1992 Nelson Carmichael wins bronze in moguls in Albertville, France; Lowell Whiteman School (now Steamboat Mountain School) student Ryan Heckman competes in Nordic combined; SSWSC athlete Nick Cleaver competes in moguls.
1994 In Norway’s Lillehammer Games, SSWSC athlete Nick Cleaver competes in moguls, Randy Weber competes in special jumping, Dave Jarrett, Ryan Heckman, Todd Lodwick compete in Nordic combined, and Julien Castellini competes in Alpine.
1998 Phoebe Mills (1988 Summer Games bronze medalist on balance beam) coaches Shannon Dunn to the bronze medal in halfpipe in the Nagano Olympics; Randy Weber competes in special jumping; Dave Jarrett, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick compete in Nordic combined; Sacha Gros, Linus Vaitkus compete in Alpine.
2002 Travis Mayer wins silver in moguls in Salt Lake City; Caroline Lalive places seventh in Alpine combined; Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick place fourth in team event in Nordic combined; Clint Jones, Tommy Schwall compete in special jumping; Michelle Gorgone competes in snowboard giant slalom.
2006 Ryan St. Onge competes in aerials in the Torino Games; Travis Mayer takes seventh in
moguls; Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick place seventh in team event in Nordic combined; Clint Jones, Tommy Schwall compete in special jumping; Michelle Gorgone competes in snowboard giant slalom.
2010 Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong and Utah native Brett Camerota win silver medal in Nordic combined team event in the Vancouver Games; Johnny Spillane (in his fourth and final Olympics) goes on to win two more silvers in the normal and large hill events, with Billy Demong winning gold in large hill.
2014 Todd Lodwick competes in historic sixth Winter Olympics at Sochi Games; Taylor Fletcher joins Nordic combined team to take sixth; Vic Wild wins two golds in Alpine snowboarding.
2018 Brothers Taylor and Bryan Fletcher compete in Nordic combined in PyeongChang, South Korea; Jarryd Hughes takes silver in snowboard cross; Arielle Gold wins bronze in snowboarding; coached by Steamboat Olympian Justin Reiter, Ester Ledecká wins gold in both Alpine snowboarding and skiing; Steamboat born and raised Ben Berend competes in Nordic combined team relay.
2022 Jaelin Kauf wins silver in moguls in Beijing; Taylor Fletcher competes in Nordic combined in fourth and final Olympics; in all, 13 athletes with Steamboat ties compete.