Aspen’s Jake Zamansky, a member of the U.S. Development Team at age 17 and a member of the 2010 Olympic Team, is retiring from the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. His last race was the Olympic giant slalom at Whistler Creekside in February.
“I didn’t intend for the Olympics to cap my career,” said Zamansky, after returning from a surfing trip to Nicaragua with fellow U.S. Ski Team alums Scott Macartney, Erik Schlopy and Bryon Friedman. “After Whistler, I still thought I had some fight left in me, but the way my body feels, it’s just the right time to move on.”
A product of Aspen’s Team Geronimo, Zamansky made the very first U.S. Development Team just before his 18th birthday and turned the opportunity into the 2001 Junior of the Year honor from Ski Racing Magazine.
He went on to capture U.S. Championship medals, World Cup points, and earn births on the 2009 Audi FIS Alpine World Championships and 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
“I look at my life right now and I am so thankful for the freedom that ski racing has provided,” he said. “It’s a very special lifestyle and that comes from the people involved in skiing world. “I’ve seen so much of the world, I ride motocross, surf in the summer and then each winter, I’ve been able to do what I love the most and make a living doing it that’s pretty special.”
