MEN Michael Schmid
INTERNATIONAL FREESTYLE SKIER
OF THE YEAR
Along with being our International Freestyle Skier of the
Year, Swiss ski cross racer Michael Schmid is also our most-improved athlete. Before this season, the 26-year-old Ski
Club Frutigen product had only one World Cup win. He
kicked off the 2009-2010 season strong with a pair of wins
in the first two races and kept on charging. Schmid won five
races this season and never finished lower than fifth in the
remaining six events. He also made history in February by
taking the first-ever ski cross Olympic gold medal before
claiming the overall title in his sixth season on the tour.
WOMEN Jennifer Heil
INTERNATIONAL FREESTYLE SKIER OF THE YEAR
CANADIAN FREESTYLE SKIER OF THE YEAR
This season, Canadian moguls skier Jennifer Heil tied the record set by the legendary Donna Weinbrecht in winning her fifth career overall globe. A midseason run of four consecutive World Cup victories along with five more podiums and an Olympic silver medal won on her home soil was more than enough for us to give her this season’s honors. “It’s definitely a challenge to stay on top,” said Heil. “To tie Donna for the all-time record is definitely nothing I had imagined when I started the sport. She had the best quality of turns and she really dominated the sport in her time, so to be in that same category is really special.”
MEN Bryon Wilson
U.S. FREESTYLE SKIER OF THE YEAR
Before this season, U.S. moguls skier Bryon Wilson had never finished better than 17th in the World Cup
overall standings. This year he leaped to fifth overall after grabbing his first two World Cup podiums at
the season opener and earning a spot on the A Team for the U.S. The Butte, Mont., native then surprised
himself, and most everyone else, with his Olympic bronze medal performance at the Vancouver Games. “It’s
been the best year of my life and I hope to continue with it from here,” he said.
