Sarah Schleper

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Sarah Schleper
Sarah Schleper Semmering 2010.jpg
American alpine skier Sarah Schleper after the first run of the giant slalom in Semmering (Austria) on 28 December 2010.
Personal information
Full nameSarah Schleper de Gaxiola
Born (1979-02-19) February 19, 1979 (age 46)
Glenwood Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation Alpine skier
Spouse
Federico Gaxiola
Sport
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Skiing career
Disciplines Slalom, giant slalom, super-G
ClubSki and Snowboard Club Vail
World Cup debut18 November 1996 (age 17)
Olympics
Teams7 – (1998–2010, 2018–2026)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams11 – (2001–2005, 2009–2011, 2015–2025)
Medals0
World Cup
Seasons19 – (1996–2006, 2009–2012, 2015–2016, 2018, 2022)
Wins1 – (1 SL)
Podiums4 – (3 SL, 1 GS)
Overall titles0 – (17th in 2004 and 2005)
Discipline titles0 – (5th in SL, 2005)

Sarah Schleper [1] (born February 19, 1979), also known as Sarah Schleper de Gaxiola, [1] is an alpine skier whose career started in 1995. She competed for the United States in four Winter Olympics from 1998-2010, and later competed for Mexico at the Winter Olympics in 2018, 2022 and 2026.

Contents

Career

Her lone World Cup victory was at a slalom event in Switzerland in 2005. [2] Her best finish at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships was seventh in the slalom event at Santa Caterina (near Bormio) in 2005.

Schleper also competed in four Winter Olympics for USA, [1] earning her best finish of tenth in the slalom event at Turin in 2006. Schleper was named to the US team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in late 2009. Schleper announced her retirement shortly before competing in her last world cup slalom on December 29, 2011, in Lienz, Austria. [3] In her career spanning a total of 15 years, she took part in 186 World Cup races and achieved four podium finishes and one victory.

In keeping with the tradition that allows retiring skiers to wear whatever they choose, Schleper raced in a thin brown summer dress, bare-armed and bare-legged. Midway down the course, she stopped to scoop up her toddler son and carried him in her arms the rest of the way down, delighting the crowd and her fellow competitors. [4] At the finish, Lindsey Vonn greeted her with a long hug, and race organizers presented her with a huge bouquet of roses. [5]

After acquiring Mexican citizenship in April 2014, she came out of retirement in June to represent Mexico. [6] She raced for Mexico in the women's giant slalom at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2015. [7] When she joined the Mexican ski team, she doubled the size of the team, serving alongside Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a long time sole representative for Mexico at the world circuit. [1]

Schleper competed for Mexico at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. Her Olympic effort is self-funded. She represents one of two athletes for Alpine Mexico, the other being Rodolfo Dickson. [1] [8] [9] [10] [11] She qualified for the 2018 Olympics, alongside Rodolfo Dickson, freestyler Roberto Franco, and cross-country skier Germán Madrazo. [12] [13]

Schleper qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics, her third with Mexico and seventh overall, and was selected as one of the team's flag bearers during the opening ceremony. Her son, Lasse Gaxiola, also qualified in men's alpine skiing, making them the first mother-son duo in Winter Olympics history to compete in the same year. [14]

Personal life

Sarah's father is Buzz Schleper, who owns a ski shop in Vail, Colorado. [15] She is married to Federico Gaxiola and acquired Mexican citizenship via her spouse in April 2014. As of 2014, she lived in both Vail and Mexico. [6]

World Cup results

Season standings

SeasonAge Overall  Slalom Giant
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
1998 19102—46———
1999 20905143———
2000 21502125———
2001 22231121———
2002 23221020———
2003 24221221———
2004 25171112———
2005 2617520———
2006 27652736———
2007 28did not compete: birth her child
2008 29
2009 30975541———
2010 31542620———
2011 32533022———
2012 33107—48———

Race podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
2001 10 Dec 2000 Flag of Italy.svg Sestriere, Italy Slalom 2nd
30 Dec 2000 Flag of Austria.svg Semmering, Austria Giant slalom 3rd
2004 13 Mar 2004 Flag of Italy.svg Sestriere, ItalySlalom2nd
2005 12 Mar 2005  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Lenzerheide, Switzerland Slalom1st

World Championship results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
2001 22DNF1DNF1———
2003 24DNF1DNF1———
2005 26713———
2009 30 28 31 — — —
2011 32 DNF2 50 — — —
Representing Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
2015 36 DNF1 50 — — —
2017 38 DNF1 41 37 38 27
2019 40 — 42 29 — —
2021 42 — 41 — — —
2023 44 — DSQ1 — — —
2025 46 — 37 — — N/a

Olympic results Olympic rings.svg

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
1998 19 22 DNF2 — — —
2002 23 DNF1 21 — — —
2006 27 10 DNF2 — — —
2010 31 16 14 — — —
Representing Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
2018 39 — DNF2 41 — —
2022 43 — 37 35 — —
2026 47 — TBD 26 — N/a

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tik Root (March 6, 2015). "Mariachi Man: Prince Hubertus and the Mexican ski team he helped create". Sports Illustrated.
  2. ↑ "FIS-Ski - resultats". Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ The Washington Post [ dead link ]
  4. ↑ https://www.sportsnet.ca/more/schleper-retires/
  5. ↑ https://www.deseret.com/2011/12/29/20241022/us-skier-schleper-retires-after-15-wcup-seasons/
  6. 1 2 Meyer, John (June 9, 2014). "Alpine ski racer Sarah Schleper coming out of retirement at age 35". Denver Post . Denver, Colorado . Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Double bonus for dual citizen Schleper at worlds". Yahoo Sports. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ Adriana Terrazas (October 31, 2017). "'Tres' company for the Mexico ski team in the Winter Olympics". ESPN.
  9. ↑ "Tres mexicanos acudirán a Pyeongchang 2018" (in Spanish). Esportes.MX. May 18, 2017. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ "México estará presente en los Juegos Olímpicos Invernales de 2018" (in Spanish). SIPSE.com. August 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ Carlos Alberto Cruz (February 23, 2017). "México con cuatro o cinco atletas a Pyeongchang 2018". El Big Data.
  12. ↑ Luis Gomez (February 9, 2018). "How to root for Team Mexico in the 2018 Winter Olympics". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  13. ↑ Abigail Parra (February 7, 2018). "Delegación mexicana en PyeonChang 2018, la más grande desde 1992" (in Spanish). mediotiempo.
  14. ↑ https://www.12news.com/article/sports/olympics/mexico-alpine-skiers-mother-son-duo-first-winter-olympics/507-6af9b352-b2a0-47a1-8d84-0c8de10e9d98
  15. ↑ John O’Neill (March 13, 2016). "How to be a 'ski bum': Buzz Schleper has built a successful business from catering to the ski crowds". VailDaily weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2017.


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