Olympian Tommy Ford is one of the fastest movers in ski racing. The U.S. Ski Team took notice after he locked four gold medals at the 2006 U.S. Junior Championships. That proved to be a good look, as Ford went on to score World Cup points in his rookie season on the White Circus, along with making the Olympic team for giant slalom.

Ford missed the opening giant slalom World Cup of the season in Soelden due to injury, but bounced back enough to rejoin the tour in Beaver Creek – site of the 2015 World Championships – and even score some points. Some bad luck in Alta Badia and Adelboden slowed him from keeping the GS mojo going, but his momentum hit the brakes hardcore when he crashed into some trees and rocks while freeskiing in La Clusaz, France in mid January.

Good friend and Wilderness First Responder Max Hammer was with him and able to stabilize him for the helicopter ride to nearby Annecy. The result was a fractured right femur and a long recovery in a pre-Olympic year.

FIRST TRACKS
Ford grew up in Bend, OR and started skiing at Mt. Bachelor around age two. "My mother and father both raced and coached. My brother also raced, so I have been around racing all of my life. I started with MBSEF around the age of seven. From there I just kept having fun and racing." He joined the U.S. Development Team right out of high school and has been climbing the ranks ever since.

OFF THE SNOW
Ford is into skateboarding, rock climbing, drawing, snapping photos and mountain biking. Also a big fan of filming and editing, he and teammate Nolan Kasper create short video edits from the road and post them on Ford's blog, http://onionsontop.tumblr.com/. Ford is a student at Dartmouth and is using school to help prep him for the upcoming Olympics by taking Russian language classes.