Graham Watanabe
Athlete Bio
Height
5'6"
Hometown
Sun Valley
EVENT - SNOWBOARDCROSS
Visit Graham Watanabe's Website
OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHTS
- 2010 Olympic Winter Games - 18th
- 2006 Olympic Winter Games - 31st
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)
PERSONAL
Club: U.S. Snowboarding, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation
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