BIOGRAPHY
Colorado native Sarah Schleper started with Ski Club Vail at 11 and just five years later, made her World Cup debut - in Vail. In between, she won five Junior Olympics gold medals and was the Whistler Cup slalom champ in 1994. The only American female four-time alpine Olympian, Schleper missed the 2007 season to rehab from ACL surgery and spent 2008 welcoming her son Lasse (born Jan. 30, 2008) into the world with husband Federico Gaxiola. She returned to the U.S. Ski Team lineup full-time to open the 2009 season, made the 2010 Olympic Team and continues to charge on the World Cup tour into her 30's.
Like her signature timing wand busting roar, Schleper charged into 2010 with the best results since 2006 landing eighth in the Are, Sweden giant slalom before turning in a fifth in the Lienz, Austria slalom the very next weekend. She stormed into her fourth Olympics with six other World Cup scoring results and a pair of Europa Cup podiums before capping the year with her fifth U.S. Championship, a slalom win at Whiteface in New York.
The benefits of her hard work will pay off in 2011 as the 32-year-old regained the U.S. A Team status she had leading into the 2006 Olympic Games. Now fully funded, the Schleper de Gaxiola family hits the World Cup tour again with a new focus on possibly racing through the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships at her home mountain of Beaver Creek/Vail, CO.
SARAH SAYS
My U.S. slalom title is really the icing on a hard two years. It was a lot of fun, I love my teammates and I loved being here, This whole thing started two years ago when I had my son Lasse. It was a big obstacle and my first year back was really tough because I didn't have results like I had when I left skiing. That was really tough on me emotionally and psychologically. But I stayed persistent, kept fighting and kept training. I as happy with the results I did score. That got me my spot in the Olympics and that was the goal.
I was pleased with how I skied last year, I thought I skied passionately and with a lot of heart and showed how much I loved skiing. We'll see what the future holds. I'll definitely be skiing.
FIRST TRACKS
Raised largely by a single dad, a card-carrying “ex-ski bum” who owned his own ski shop in Vail, Schleper’s first skis were a gift for her second birthday. At first snow, she immediately began hiking up the hill behind her house. She moved into racing with Ski Club Vail at 11. Five years later, she was in her first World Cup - at home! In between, Schleper won five Junior Olympics titles and was 1995 Junior Skier of the Year for Ski Racing; she also was Whistler Cup slalom champ in ’94.
OFF THE SNOW
Schleper switches seamlessly from elite athlete to super mom, traveling the world with her husband Federico and now two-year-old son Lasse. Summer loves include surfing, mountain biking, yoga and relaxing in Mexico. Two weeks of the summer are also spent at the family property in Minnesota where wakeboarding and waterskiing take center stage. Younger bro Hunter is also a member of the U.S. Ski Team and is a very competitive wake boarder. Goals in life are to open an eco-farm in Mexico and live off the land with son Lasse fluent in English, Spanish and German.
OLYMPICS
2010 Olympic Winter Games
- 14th in giant slalom
- 16th in slalom
2006 Olympic Winter Games
- 10th in slalom
2002 Olympic Winter Games
- 21st in giant slalom
1998 Olympic Winter Games
- 22nd in slalom
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
2009 FIS Alpine World Championships
- 28th in slalom
- 31st in giant slalom
2005 FIS Alpine World Championships
- 7th in slalom
- 13th in giant slalom
2003 FIS Alpine World Championships Team
2001 FIS Alpine World Championships Team
WORLD CUP
2010
- Two World Cup top 10's, including a slalom fifth in Lienz, Austria
2009
- Three World Cup top 25 finishes
2006
- Five top 30 finishes
2005
- World Cup slalom victory in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, 11 other top 30 results
2004
- Slalom second in Sestriere, Italy, eight other top 10 finishes
2003
- 15 World Cup top 25 finishes
2002
- 16 World Cup top 30 finishes
2001
- Second in Sestriere, Italy slalom, nine other scoring results
2000
- 15 World Cup top 30 finishes
OTHER
- Star of 2010 Audi documentary Truth in Motion: www.itunes.com/truthinmotion
- 10 U.S. Championships podiums including five wins
- 1997 Junior Worlds slalom silver medalist
- Five-time Junior Olympics gold medalist
- 1995 Ski Racing Junior of the Year
- 1994 Whistler Cup slalom winner
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02/26/2010
Schleper Leads U.S. in Slalom
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02/25/2010
Fast 2nd Run Lands Mancuso 8th
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02/24/2010
Schleper Leads U.S. in 14th
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02/23/2010
U.S. Women Switch to Tech Events
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01/29/2010
U.S. Alpine on NBC Primetime Saturday
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01/17/2010
U.S. Shut Out of Maribor Slalom Final
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01/12/2010
Schleper 17th in Night Slalom
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12/29/2009
Schleper Charges to 5th in Lienz
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12/28/2009
Vonn OK After Crash
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11/29/2008
Vonn Scores Career Best GS
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10/25/2008
Schleper Returns to World Cup Skiing
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09/03/2008
Cross training at "Camp Buzz" with Schleper
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08/26/2008
U.S. Momen "Impressive in New Zealand
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08/07/2008
2009 U.S. Alpine Ski Team Named
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05/07/2008
Schleper Celebrates Mother's Day with Son
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