Athlete Bios
Alpine Skiing
Mancuso was no-name until '06
American hadn't reached World Cup podium once before clinching gold in Torino
Last Updated: Friday, February 5, 2010 | 11:45 AM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
Julia Mancuso from the U.S. surprised even herself when she took gold at the 2006 Olympics. (Javier Soriano/Getty Images)ith her surprising gold-medal performance in the giant slalom at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, Julia Mancuso joined the small fraternity of American alpine Olympic gold medallists. In an Olympics that had been better known for American alpine disappointments, Mancuso's upset on a snowy day in Sestriere was a feel-good story that helped salvage some face for the American ski-racing team.
Mancuso had never won - indeed had never led - a World Cup race before she won her Olympic gold medal. But she led after the first run of the giant slalom and followed it up with another charging, if precise, second run as the final top skier down the racecourse.
Mancuso has won four World Cup races and three world championships medals - a silver in the super-combined in 2007 and bronzes in 2005 in the giant slalom and the super-G.
Born March 9, 1984, in Reno, Nev., Mancuso was raised in the Lake Tahoe area and in Hawaii, and began racing seriously at age eight. She quickly became one of the most successful juniors in American ski-racing history, winning five junior world championship gold medals. She skied in her first World Cup race when she was 15.
The same age as another top American, Lindsey Vonn, the two were friends and rivals as young teens, even vacationing with one another's families as they dominated junior races worldwide. As the two grew older, many observers perceived the relationship as more of a rivalry. While still friendly, they are not as close as they once were.
Lately, Mancuso and Vonn seem to succeed or recede in harmony. A training crash just before the 2006 Games ruined Vonn's chances there and Mancuso sparkled in her gold-medal performance. In the last two years, Vonn has ascended to the top of the World Cup standings and Mancuso has had a series of indifferent results, often attributed to injuries. Last season, Mancuso did not reach the podium in any World Cup race, the first time that has happened since 2006.
Mancuso dedicated herself to a more strenuous workout regimen last summer and improved her race times in the early parts of the 2009-10 season. She remains a dominant personality on the World Cup circuit, famous as an Olympic gold medallist and as a model for Lange ski boots. Mancuso's unmatched ski-racing pedigree and her knack for skiing her best in big competitions make her a dark-horse contender for a medal in two or three events at the Vancouver Games.
