Olympic Medalists to Reunite Saturday

Thu, Apr  22, 2010 - By US Ski Team

DENVER (April 21) –Olympic medalists will reunite this Saturday in Denver for "Mile High Medals," a family fundraising event to benefit the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation. Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), who also won the Audi FIS World Cup crown, along with silver medalist Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) will headine a lineup of a half-dozen current and past Olympic and Paralympic medalists.

"I'm anxious to see my Olympic teammates," said Vonn, who was celebrated in front of thousands recently at her home in Vail. "Most of all, though, I'm looking forward to celebrating with the Colorado families in Denver who help support our future U.S. Ski Team stars."

For Lodwick, Mile High Medals marks a return from his Heavy Medal Tour – a 10-day tour with his fellow nordic combined Olympic medalists of U.S. troops in Southwest Asia. Thousands packed his hometown of Steamboat Springs' April 2 for a rousing sendoff and Olympic celebration.

"The Heavy Medal Tour was very emotional and an amazing way for each of us, as Olympic medalists, to share some time with our troops," said Lodwick. "I will have plenty of stories to share with our U.S. Ski Team guests in Denver."

Vonn and Lodwick will be joined by freestyle aerials silver medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID), moguls bronze medalist Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA), along with Paralympic sensation Alana Nichols (Taos, NM), a Winter Park, CO skier who won four medals including two gold.

The Olympian reunion will bring together more than a dozen current and past Olympians at the Cherry Hills home of U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation Trustee Eric Resnick, a managing director of KSL Capital Partners in Denver. One of the highlights of Mile High Medals will be an obstacle course race for kids, employing some of the same training tools and techniques used by the Olympians. Also on the schedule is a performance by the Flying Ace All Stars – one of the world's most exhilarating ski and snowboarding trampoline shows.

"The most heartwarming aspect of events like this is connecting our Olympic athletes with families," said the Team's Foundation chief Trace Worthington, himself a former Olympian and two-time freestyle World Champion. "Our athletes love to spend time with kids and inspire them to achieve their own goals in life.

"Most important of all is that we're raising money to support future generations of stars – giving those youngsters the same chance that Lindsey Vonn and Todd Lodwick had growing up in Colorado."

The victorious 2010 medalists will also get a chance to mingle with past stars including 1964 Olympic silver medalist Billy Kidd and 1992 medalist Nelson Carmichael, both of Steamboat Springs.

Unlike most other nations, U.S. athletes have no government support and rely on the generosity of American fans. U.S. Ski and Snowboard Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit which benefits young athletes who aspire to be a part of the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding.