BIOGRAPHY:
Washington State's Colby Granstrom made a statement at the 2003 Whistler Cup races, the biggest event for J3 (13-14 years) and J4 (11-12) racers when - at 12 - he won both the slalom and giant slalom at Whistler. A solid all-around racer, Granstrom is a Junior World Champion and hence rapidly ascending the U.S. Ski Team pipeline

There are steps in the development pipeline and then there are giant steps. Granstrom went Godzilla in 2011 by opening the season with his World Cup debut in Levi, Finland. He didn't make the flip 30, but he did impress coaches enough to give him starts in Kitzbuehel, Schladming and Bansko as well.

The fast feet paid their dividends as the season wrapped in Winter Park, CO where Granstrom nabbed the Putnam Investments U.S. Alpine Championship for slalom ending a near sweep of the weekend by teammate Tommy Ford.

COLBY SAYS:
I really wanted to ski well and get on the podium in Winter Park. I was skiing to win but I didn’t really believe that I was going to win. I was kind of in shock and I went over to Tommy Ford and he said, ‘you just won the race’. It was a good guess. It was kind of cool to hear him say it because he already knew what it felt like to win a national championship. It gives me a lot of confidence for the next year and it gives me confidence to ski with the guys you watch on TV and at the Olympics. I use the hope of a gold medal or any medal really to get me motivated to do my best.

FIRST TRACKS:
Granstrom, who comes from a skiing family, was a 2-year-old toddler the first time he ever stood on a pair of skis. He started racing at Stevens Pass when he was 5, and he was 8 when he won an event for kids 12 and under from Washington, Oregon and Idaho. At 12, he won two gold medals at the Whistler Cup, a competition in Whistler, B.C., for kids 11-14 from around the world. From there it was onto the U.S. Development Team and beyond.

OFF THE SNOW:
Granstrom kicks around the soccer ball and loves waterskiing and fishing. Musical taste is all over the map, but you would find both Taylor Swift and Bryon Friedman on his iPod. When not at Team camps or in Park City, you'll find him at the Team Fitness gym in Lake Stevens.