Stacey Cook is a member of the U.S. Ski Team whose career highlights include the 2006 Olympic Team, U.S. Super G Champion (2006, 2008), Nor Am overall/downhill champion (2004), World Cup points in downhill, super G, and giant slalom (2006), and the list goes on.

Stacey started skiing with her father at various Lake Tahoe ski areas near their home in Truckee, California when she was just 4 years-old. She started racing in low-key Buddy Werner League events run by the local recreation department. When she wanted to try downhill but the Tahoe coaches resisted, she shifted to the Mammoth Mountain racing program and started becoming more speed oriented. She added downhill during the Olympic Winter of 2002 and won a Nor-Am downhill the next season at Lake Louise. She would go on to race at two Junior Worlds.

The Starting Gate: “When I was about 10, I got a scholarship to the Northstar [racing] program and I won the first race. That’s when I got serious.”

Stacey first scored World Cup points in the 2006 season. By the end of the winter she had scored in three disciplines, raced at the Olympics and qualified for World Cup Finals in downhill. She finished with her first U.S. title, capturing the super G, and began working on improvements for the next season. Winning that U.S. gold medal gave her confidence to keep moving forward.

On Inspiration: “I am inspired by the people around me. Some people might say that this is a weakness, that I should be able to fuel myself. But the sincere appreciation of everyone that is helping me makes me want to show that their effort is paying off. When I stand in the start gate, I want to prove to my coaches that their endless amount of work and support can produce, and to my sponsors that they are backing the right person on and off the slopes, and to my family and friends that just a normal person from a small town can make it on the world stage.” {More from Stacey’s Journals}

When Stacey isn’t training, touring the world, and competing with the U.S. Ski Team she enjoys spending time with her family and friends doing outdoor activities like camping, hunting ducks, fishing, water skiing, and mountain biking.