Athletes of the Year
MEN John Teller
U.S. FREESTYLE SKIER OF THE YEAR
Just a few months after ski cross made its Olympic debut at the Vancouver Games, the USSA decided to eliminate its elite program. Casey Puckett
and Daron Rahlves, the only members of the first American Olympic ski
cross team, joined forces with several other supporters and took it upon
themselves to start the American Ski Cross Association. John Teller was
named as one of four athletes to the ASCA team and this season, the part-time auto mechanic from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., won on the sport’s biggest
stage — the X Games, before becoming the first U.S. athlete of either gender to win a World Cup ski cross race.
With four additional top-five World Cup results, Teller landed fourth in the
overall ski cross season rankings. He also finished fifth by winning the small
final at the Deer Valley World Championships.
