PERSONAL

A graduate of the Waterville Valley snowboarding program, it's not the technique that keeps Michelle Gorgone Snowboarding, it's the speed. Nicknamed "Pirelli" after Italian racing tires, she burned her way through the junior ranks, scoring five Junior World Championship Teams (‘98, ‘99, ‘01, ‘02, ‘03) before making the jump to the World Cup and the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team. Originally thought of as the youngster on the team, Gorgone took over veteran leadership status after the retirement of Olympic bronze medalist Rosey Fletcher.

Gorgone waqs at it again in 2009 as she made her way through the World Cup competitions with some solid success. She opened up the season yet again with another podium, finishing second at the parallel slalom World Cup in Switzerland. Two World Cup top-10 finishes later,
Gorgone nailed down another podium with a third in the parallel giant slalom in Spain. Only, with this podium, ham was involved. "I won a ham," Gorgone said. "I brought home the bacon, so it was great."

FIRST TRACKS

Gorgone picked up snowboarding thanks to a cousin Loryn, but she credits former coach Bill Enos with plugging her into the competition scene. After three years of tutelage from Enos at Waterville Valley, N.H., Gorgone moved to Colorado and joined the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. She then made her first U.S. Snowboarding Team in 2003 and immediately went full-time on the World Cup tour.

I AM

Karaoke queen, Italian and proud, the next American Idol, a dance addict. When living the dream of being a professional snowboarder winds down, she has plans to head to college to pursue a degree in advertising.

Image by Harry How/Getty Images

Olympic Experience

2-time Olympian;

Olympic Games Vancouver 2010, 14th (Parallel Giant Slalom - Women)
Olympic Games Turin 2006, 22th (Parallel Giant Slalom - Women)

World Championships Experience

Most recent: 2009 – (Parallel Slalom - Women), 30th (Parallel Giant Slalom - Women)
Years of participation: Parallel Giant Slalom - Women 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009; Parallel Slalom - Women 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
Top finish: – 2009 (Parallel Slalom - Women)

Athlete Bio

Height

Age

Hometown

Education

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