5'6"
28
San Francisco, CA
Burke Mountain Academy Dartmouth College
Growing up in a skiing family, Nina O'Brien recalls weekend trips where her parents would load four children and two dogs into the car for the 3.5-hour drive to the mountains. At age 13, O'Brien moved cross-country to attend Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont, a prestigious ski racing academy where she graduated a year behind future teammate Mikaela Shiffrin. The transition from West Coast to East Coast skiing significantly increased her training volume and allowed her to join the National Training Group at age 15.
O'Brien made her world cup debut at Killington just days before her 19th birthday in November 2016. She quickly progressed through the ranks, earning her spot on the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team that same year. In 2019, O'Brien captured the NorAm overall title, finishing first in slalom, giant slalom and super-G. Her success continued with multiple U.S. national championship titles across various disciplines.
O'Brien's Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 showcased both her potential and the unpredictable nature of alpine racing. After posting the sixth-fastest time in the first run of the giant slalom, O'Brien crashed near the finish line during her second run, suffering a compound fracture of her tibia and fibula. The devastating injury required four surgeries and extensive rehabilitation. Demonstrating remarkable mental fortitude, O'Brien returned to competition just nine months later at Killington in November 2022. Her comeback culminated in gold at the 2023 world championships in Courchevel-Meribel, France, where she teamed with Paula Moltzan, Tommy Ford and River Radamus to win the mixed team parallel event.
Adversity struck again in September 2023 when O'Brien broke the same leg during a training camp in New Zealand. The second fracture required another complete rehabilitation process, causing her to miss the entire 2023-24 season. Through both recovery periods, O'Brien leaned on the support of teammates, coaches and especially Mikaela Shiffrin, who provided encouragement during the most difficult moments. O'Brien returned to world cup competition in October 2024, finishing seventh at Sölden and sixth at Killington—both career-best results that demonstrated her technical skills remained sharper than ever.
Off the slopes, O'Brien graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in economics, alongside her younger brother Preston. She has worked in finance for a private equity firm in Denver and remains actively involved with Voice in Sport, an organization dedicated to elevating women's voices in athletics.
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