Fansided

The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

By Adam Strangis

16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) /
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ALTA BADIA, ITALY – DECEMBER 18: Ted Ligety of USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom on December 18, 2017 in Alta Badia, Italy. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
ALTA BADIA, ITALY – DECEMBER 18: Ted Ligety of USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom on December 18, 2017 in Alta Badia, Italy. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images) /

Utah: Ted Ligety

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Olympics: Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014

Possibly one of the best states in which to be a talented skier is Utah and Ted Ligety took full advantage of having the Rocky Mountains as his playground. Specifically, Ligety enrolled in a school run by a nearby resort. Park City Mountain Resort operated the Winter Sports School which stressed excelling in both education and sports. As Ligety learned the sport of skiing, he kept working his way through the junior circuit and eventually his first major achievement was a gold medal at the 2006 Games in the men’s combined event. He was the first American man to win a gold in alpine skiing in 12 years.

As Ligety honed his skills, he came to realize that his uncanny knack for cutting turns was his greatest ally and that gave him a leg up on his competitors. The 2010 Olympics left Ligety disappointed as he missed out on the medal podium in every single event. One of the slalom events saw him miss a bronze by a mere half second. Ligety made things right by his standards when he won a gold in the giant slalom event. This gold represented the first time an American man has won the giant slalom and his total of two golds was also a first for an American male in skiing races.

All told, Ligety has taken home two Olympic gold medals, 24 GS World Cup wins, five World Cup titles, and three GS world championship gold medals. Ligety turned his upbringing in the mountains into one of the most decorated skiing careers ever for an America male.

Honorable Mention: Jay Silvester, discus in Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, and Montreal 1976

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