Charlie Reynolds
Taylor Guetschow
Christopher Acosta
JULIE SHIPMAN ( 6) HEATHER BLACK (COOPER)
Meet Up-and-Coming J3 Nigel Elliot
At the Eric Hays Memorial earlier this season, junior racer Nigel Elliot caught Ski Racing’s eye
when he finished as the first J3 by more than two seconds in the initial slalom, and as the first J3 by
more than one second in the initial GS. So we asked the Park City Ski Team athlete a few questions.
Ski Racing: Tell me about your family.
Nigel Elliot: I am the youngest of five kids. We have all ski raced, but only three of us do now. My
brother Jeremy is 21 and races in Aspen, NorAms and such. My sister Angie races in college at Sierra
Nevada. My dad also raced in college in Colorado and my mom raced masters for awhile.
SR: What are your ski racing goals, short term and long term?
NE: I am going to the Topolino Shootout from Jan. 22–24 and I plan on getting gold in Topolino,
Italy! Long term, I plan on making the USST and hopefully having a career as a World Cup racer.
That’s my dream.
SR: Who are your favorite WC racers and why?
NE: I love Bode Miller and Hirscher from Austria. The reason I do is that they take chances. And
they ski their own way. They don’t look like everyone else when they ski, but they are always trying to
improve. I really hope Bode can win gold for the U.S. in the Olympics.
SR: What have you done differently this year to make such advances in
your skiing?
NE: I have really started to focus more on dryland training and being in better shape. I am taking
weightlifting more seriously and trying hard to get stronger. I also did a lot of biking this summer,
both road and mountain biking.
SR: What are your favorite non-ski sports?
NE: I really like to windsurf and sometimes I play golf. But I don’t compete in any other sports.
SR: What is your favorite discipline in racing?
NE: Do I have to pick one? I really do like them all.
SR: OK, what are you best at?
NE: Well, I seem to be better at slalom and super G. At least that’s what the results say but I’m not
a lot stronger in one than the other. I look forward to maybe doing a downhill this year but I’m not
sure. It will depend a lot on what my coaches say. Right now I am taking it one race at a time and
looking forward to the season!
