One of America’s winningest female ski racers, Julia Mancuso is calling it quits after persistent hip pain kept her sidelined for the past two seasons.
But as we all know, Mancuso wouldn’t go quietly into ski racing retirement. Donning her signature Wonder Woman speed suit, Mancuso put down her final run at Cortina d’Ampezzo as hordes of fans cheered the olympic gold medalist through the finish line. Mancuso grabbed her first podium at the Italian race venue back in 2006.
“It has been an epic battle with my hip injury, and the past three years I have put everything into returning to competition at the highest level and the goal to reach my fifth Olympic Games… There have been really promising days during this challenging process, and I have kept my spirits up despite many who questioned or doubted me. Sadly, I haven’t found the progression to compete with the best in the world again, but I’m proud to have fought until the very end. It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to ski racing, but I do so with a full heart.” – Julia Mancuso
According to the US Ski & Snowboard Team, ski racing’s Wonder Woman will go from racing to commentating during the upcoming winter olympics in Pyeongchang alongside former US Ski Teamer, Bode Miller.
Find her final run here: Julia Mancuso Farewell Run @Cortina d’Ampezzo
Julia Mancuso Career Highlights (*Courtesy of the US Ski & Snowboard Team)
- Most decorated big event American female athlete (nine medals: four Olympics, five World Championships)
- Most Olympic medals for an American female ski or snowboard athlete (four)
- Medals in three consecutive Olympic Games
- Gold, giant slalom, Torino, ITA, 2006
- Silver, downhill, Vancouver, CAN, 2010
- Silver, super combined, Vancouver, CAN, 2010
- Bronze, super combined, Sochi, RUS, 2014
- Four Olympic Teams
- Seven World Cup victories across four disciplines (city event, downhill, super-G, alpine combined)
- 36 World Cup podiums
- 399 World Cup starts
- First World Cup start November 20, 1999 – Copper Mountain, Colo.
Find the entire US Ski & Snowboard team post here: Julia Mancuso Retires After Storied Career