Graham
Watanabe

Olympian 2006, 2010

Athlete Bio#

Height

5'6"

Age

Hometown

Sun Valley

EVENT - SNOWBOARDCROSS

HEIGHT 5'6" WEIGHT 150 lbs.

Visit Graham Watanabe's Website

Olympic Experience

2-time Olympian;

Olympic Games Vancouver 2010, 18th (Snowboardcross - Men)
Olympic Games Turin 2006, 31th (Snowboardcross - Men)

Career Highlights

Worlds: 2005, 2007
2009: Third World Cup victory (Sunday River, Maine)
2009: X Games silver medalist
2008: Second World Cup victory (Japan)
2007: 5th at U.S. champs
2007: 4th at New Zealand champs
2005: 1st at Valle Nevado World Cup
2004: 1st at South American Cup - Chile
2003: 1st at Aspen NorAm (PSL)

Quick Facts

A member of the U.S. Alpine snowboarding team in 2000, Graham Watanabe has a background in racing, but switched full-on to snowboardcross with the Olympic announcement. At the start of the 2005 season he jumped on the opportunity for a trip to Chile with friend Nate Galpin. The trip proved profitable when he boosted his World Cup career in a big way, winning the opening SBX event in Chile to become the first American man ever to win a World Cup SBX. He turned that into a solid season on the World Cup tour and an eventual ticket to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

FIRST TRACKS
Lucky for Graham, Mr. Watanabe (VP of Scott Motorsports) fits into the cool dad department. "My dad asked my bro and I to give snowboarding a try and it stuck." A good buddy of his then started to compete and he went along for the ride. Like any good addiction, success led to
motivation.

I AM
Hoping to become multi-lingual. "I'd like to, eventually, learn at least three languages in addition to English. My philosophy is just to keep a general level of fitness, but mostly to do that by doing the things that I love. Fortunately for me, that includes most, if not all/any athletic activity. Those I tend to do most often are: road/mountain biking, rock climbing, soccer, weight lifting, yoga, and golf." Hero: "My dad's my hero because he's achieved great successes, but maintains a healthy perspective on who and what is important in his life. He maintains a healthy lifestyle that balances working hard and playing hard. He's also loved and respected by all who have met him because of his genuine, pleasant nature." Favorite restaurant is Chuck-E-Cheese.

IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES