The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I have to go live it up now!”
It’s been a long road to the Olympics for David Chodounsky. Following a non-traditional route, raising money and battling for a spot on the U.S. Ski Team, Chodounsky has finally reached his ultimate goal, the Winter Olympic Games, and will be racing in the slalom on Saturday, February 22.
“There are so many people excited for me and I’ve been getting emails and letters from all over the place, from people and friends I haven’t seen in ages and even childhood friends of my parents,” says Chodounsky. “It’s so cool and I feel so honored to be here in Sochi with such support behind me.”
Chodounsky’s Olympic quest started at Buck Hill in Minnesota as a seven-year-old. He moved to Crested Butte when he was 11 and continued racing with the Crested Butte Ski Club, winning the Prater Cup, the premier showcase for alpine ski racers ages 12 to 13 years old in the Rocky Mountain West and qualifier for the Junior Championships.
Chodounsky finished his high school career racing for the Crested Butte Academy and took a year off before college to pursue his Olympic dream and gain experience racing in the European circuit.
After testing the waters, Chodounsky turned to collegiate racing, winning the NCAA slalom title and captaining the Dartmouth ski racing team to a NCAA National title.
Following college, Chodounsky returned to the U.S. Ski Team fray, earned a spot on the B Team but had to continue to pay his own way.
Two years ago, Chodounsky made the A team and started climbing the World Cup ranks. This season he started cracking the top 10 on the World Cup circuit and after 22 years of racing, he is now in Sochi, Russia as the top slalom skier for the US team and ranked 16th in the world.
With his goal attained, he didn’t actually get to step into the Olympic theatre until Monday, February 17, missing the first week, including the opening ceremonies, as the focus was on training, not sightseeing.
