Athlete Bios
Alpine Skiing
Ligety rocketed to fame with '06 gold
American is a contender in slalom and giant slalom in 2010
Last Updated: Friday, February 5, 2010 | 11:32 AM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
Ted Ligety was overshadowed by champion teammates until winning gold in the combined event at the 2006 Games. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)A late bloomer, Ted Ligety was never one of the promising stars of the junior ski circuit while growing up in Utah. But he improved steadily and consistently in his late teens and early 20s. His perseverance earned him a spot on the United States team that went to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, but he was an afterthought behind bigger names such as Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves.
And yet neither of those racers earned a medal. In the Olympic combined, which Miller led for a while, it was Ligety who shocked the field as the surprise winner. Along with the gold medal won by Julia Mancuso, Ligety's breakthrough was one of the highlights of an American alpine effort that was widely seen as a disappointment.
Ligety's gold medal rocketed him to fame as the new face of the men's team, and since 2006 he has lived up to the expectations. He won the giant slalom World Cup title last season and was third in the giant slalom at the 2009 world championships. He had four World Cup victories heading into the 2009-10 season and 16 podium finishes, all in giant slalom or slalom. Ligety has branched out and become a proficient racer in the super-G and the downhill. This season, however, he has said he will concentrate his World Cup and Olympic efforts on the technical events of giant slalom and slalom.
Raised in Park City, Utah, Ligety (born Aug. 31, 1984) is a popular member of the United States ski team, known for an easy disposition and an unaffected manner with teammates, reporters and competitors. He has also developed a reputation for producing his best results in big races, hence his nickname on the team: Teddy Ballgame. He has an unpredictable side, sometimes turning up with flowing shoulder-length hair or, just as easily, a spiked irregular style.
He is also known as Ted Shred, a reference to the company, Shred, that he started with a partner. Shred sells goggles, sunglasses and helmets in bright colors, including hot pink and florescent green, that are especially popular with young racers. Ligety won his Olympic gold medal wearing pink Shred goggles. "Just trying to keep some of the edgy fun in ski racing," he has said of Shred's fashions.
Ligety broke his hand in 2008 and sustained a knee-ligament injury late in the season, but the layoff did not inhibit his summer training. With a second-place finish in the first race of the 2009-2010 season, Ligety remains a prime contender for a medal in the giant slalom in Vancouver. He could also be among the handful of favourites in the slalom.
twitter_username: tedligety
