From the icons to the up-and-comers, the small Eastern Sierra resort town of Mammoth Lakes produces "an astonishing number of elite athletes.”
Recently named one of CNN's top 10 places where you can live your Winter Olympic Dreams, Mammoth is the official training ground for the US freeski and snowboard teams; and the men’s and women’s Olympic Freeski and Snowboard Teams were announced based on the final qualifier at last month's U.S Grand Prix at Mammoth.
Of the women who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team for halfpipe, only one - Arielle Gold - hails from outside California. The other three live or train in Mammoth: Chloe Kim, Kelly Clark and Maddie Mastro. According to one report, "If the U.S. is going to sweep the podium at any event in PyeongChang, this could be the one."
And who didn't see the video of snowboarder Shaun White, another California native and Mammoth fixture, when he recently qualified for his fourth Olympics posting a perfect 100 on his third run at the U.S. Grand Prix at Snowmass.
The U.S. Women's Alpine Ski Team is also looking strong with nine athletes, including three-time Olympian and Mammoth local Stacey Cook; alongside Mikaela Shiffrin (Co.) and Lindsey Vonn (Co.) - who just snagged her 80th World Cup win last weekend.
We love living in Mammoth and bumping into these world-class athletes on the hill and around town. We'll be cheering them on from afar when the first Olympic events kick off this week!
Good luck to ALL the athletes!
See a complete Team U.S.A. Olympic Roster. And check out all the gear the athletes at the Winter Olympics need to stay warm during one of the coldest games on record.
"From the icons to the up-and-comers, the small Eastern Sierra resort town produces an astonishing number of elite athletes.” - Sierra Wave Media
