JC Schoonmaker

Quick Facts

• Specialty: Men's Cross-Country Skiing Sprint (Classic & Freestyle)
• Parents: Dirk and Marty Schoonmaker
• Hobbies include hockey, basketball, hanging out with friends
• Played soccer for about 6 years and dreamed of being a professional Soccer player
• Ambassador for the The SNOW Sports Museum which preserves the winter sports history and Olympic legacy of the Northern Sierra Nevada

Biographical Information

James Clinton "JC" Schoonmaker's path to becoming one of America's fastest sprinters began before he could walk, when his mother Marty would pull him around Tahoe Cross Country trails in a sled. His parents, Dirk and Marty, were both athletic—his father played soccer and lacrosse at Swarthmore College, while his mother introduced JC to skiing through Tahoe XC's Strider Gliders program. As a child, Schoonmaker explored multiple sports including soccer, downhill skiing, lacrosse, and baseball. His earliest memories of ski racing weren't about competition but about the raffles after each race where he hoped to win gloves or a hat. The moment cross-country skiing became his passion arrived in middle school during his first race, when he discovered the thrill of competition.

Schoonmaker attended North Tahoe High School, skiing for Auburn Ski Club and later Sugar Bowl Academy. At the University of Alaska Anchorage, he earned three All-American honors, including third place in the 20-kilometer freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships. The turning point came in 2020 at U.S. Nationals in Houghton, Michigan, when he unexpectedly won the skate sprint qualifier, earning his first world cup qualification. In his senior year, he balanced collegiate competition with his Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, finishing ninth in the team sprint with Ben Ogden, 15th in the freestyle sprint, and 66th in the 15-kilometer classic. He also won his first national title in the 2022 freestyle sprint at Soldier Hollow.

The 2023-24 season marked Schoonmaker's historic breakthrough. On Dec. 9, 2023, in Östersund, Sweden, he earned his first world cup podium with a third-place finish in the classic sprint. The result represented the first time two U.S. men made a sprint final together, as Ogden finished fourth. The podium was the first for a U.S. man since Simi Hamilton in 2017. In March 2024, he won the classic sprint at U.S. Spring Nationals in Duluth.

When not training, Schoonmaker enjoys hockey, basketball, and spending time with friends. He remains grounded by his team's collaborative spirit, noting that breakthrough results "don't belong to me and Ben; they belong to the whole of U.S. skiing."

Olympic Experience

• 1-time Olympian
  • Olympic Games Beijing 2022, 9th (Team Sprint Classic Style - Men), 15th (Sprint Freestyle - Men), 66th (15km Classic Style - Men)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2025 – 6th (Team Sprint Classic Style - Men), 7th (4 x 7.5km Relay - Men), 15th (Sprint Freestyle - Men), 54th (50km Freestyle - Men)
• Years of participation: 4 x 7.5km Relay - Men 2025; 50km Freestyle - Men 2025; Sprint Freestyle - Men 2025; Team Sprint Classic Style - Men 2025; Sprint Classic Style - Men 2021, 2023; Team Sprint Freestyle - Men 2023
• Top finish: 6th – 2025 (Team Sprint Classic Style - Men)