Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley will trade in her skis for an NBC microphone at this year’s Olympics.
One of the most decorated skiers to call Squaw Valley her home, the 33-year-old Mancuso retired Friday. She departs an 18-year career as the most successful female American skier at major championships, with nine medals spread between Olympics and world championships.
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Mancuso looks forward to the next chapter of her career. She will contribute features on a variety of platforms, including the Olympic Zone – a nightly 30-minute show that airs on NBC affiliates. She will also serve as a reporter, covering venues and locations throughout next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics Games. Mancuso worked for NBC in a similar capacity at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I am so grateful for all the incredible opportunities I’ve been provided and the amazing friendships I’ve made along the way,” Mancuso said. “I’d also like to thank my family, sponsors, and my team for believing in me, my doctors and fans, and especially my husband who has supported me through these difficult times. I am happy that I got to ski my last race here in Cortina – one of my favorite stops on the tour. I had my first podium here, and now I get to say farewell. I’m excited to see where skiing and life’s adventure will take me next.”
In typical fashion, the somewhat eccentric skier went out in style with an emotional goodbye in a World Cup downhill Friday. Mancuso wore a Wonder Woman suit that included a big red cape with a big “J” printed on it.
Mancuso’s outlandish costume, which also included a plastic tiara, was worn on her “victory lap” in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, which was the first track she podiumed on in January 2006.
Her final ceremonial run as a ski race was a reminder of what made Mancuso so great. She was a free-spirited Californian who consistently beat the favorites when the stakes were the highest. That made her a somewhat superhero in the sport of skiing.
Slowed by persistent hip problems, Mancuso did not qualify for next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics.
As a junior ski racer at Squaw Valley, Mancuso came blazing on to the scene – capturing an American record eight Junior World Championship medals.
A four-event athlete from the beginning, Mancuso started World Cup racing and was a NorAm champion at age 16. She competed in the Olympics at 17, set a U.S. record for Junior World Championships medals before she was out of her teens, and then started her twenties by capturing two World Championships medals.
Mancuso’s first FIS Ski World Cup was in 1999, and her first World Cup podium was a super-G silver in Cortina. Known for her renegade style and her ability to perform on the big stage, Mancuso donned a tiara on the podium in 2006 and 2010 when she won Olympic gold and silver.
“Skiing is fun first and foremost and I hope that my career can inspire others to just have fun, especially as an underdog,” Mancuso said after wiping away tears following her final World Cup run. “I don’t think that I was ever looked at as the favorite and I always managed to do the best for me and ski the best for me, and sometimes that brought gold medals, which was incredible.”
In the finish area at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Lindsey Vonn and other teammates sprayed Mancuso with champagne and carried her on their shoulders while the crowd cheered “Julia, Julia.”
Vonn was also moved to tears by Mancuso’s retirement – the two have competed against each other since they were 9-years-old.
“We weren’t always the best of friends. We’re very different. We’re really exact opposites,” Vonn said. “She’s like free, ‘Let’s go surfing,’ and I’m like hard core, always focused all the time. We haven’t always been very close, but because we pushed each other we both achieved a level of success that I don’t think we would have had without each other.”
Mancuso recently married Dylan Fish, a manager at a surfing resort in Fiji, and splits her time between Squaw Valley and Hawaii.
