Born and bred in Utah, downhiller Steven Nyman was skiing at two (Dad ran the ski school at Sundance) and was a discretionary pick to the 2002 Junior Worlds squad, where he landed two medals, including a slalom gold. Coaches were so impressed they entered him in a World Cup slalom six days later and he finished 15th. Needless to say, his 6’4” frame is more suited for speed events—three World Cup downhill wins proves it.

The one thing that is consistent about World Cup skiing is that it’s not consistent. Nyman knows that best of all. After an incredibly successful 2013 season, 2014 shaped up to be mediocre results-wise. But he took a lot of positives out of the season as well, namely fast skiing in Beaver Creek and another Olympic start. And then came 2015, where Steven was in top condition physically and performed his strongest and most consistent season of his career, finishing 6th in the downhill rank.

First he grabbed a podium at Birds of Prey, just .02 out of second, behind Kjetil Jansrud and Beat Feuz. He went on to complete the Val Gardena hat trick, by a commanding three tenth margin. Three career wins, all of them on the Saslong track. Impressive. From there, he snagged the best super G result of his career with a 13th in Kitzbuehel and followed it up with a 5th place in downhill—good momentum that created confidence leading up to Vail/Beaver Creek World Championships. What a downhill day it was. Nyman hammered and came down in first place. The crowd was manic. Then the Swiss Beat Feuz came down and snuck in ahead of Nyman once again—this time by .03—and Nyman was sitting in second. But it was another Swiss—Patrick Kueng—who came down with the lead, skiing into first. And then teammate Travis Ganong crushed and broke up the Swiss party, pushing Nyman to fourth.

In 2016, Nyman did something no other American Downhiller has done—he found his stride in February, podiuming four times in a row, starting with the PyeongChang Olympic test event in Jeongseon (3^rd) and then Chamonix (2^nd), Kvitfjell (3^rd), and St. Moritz (2^nd). Not only does that streak bode well for Nyman at 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz, but that kind of consistency also bodes well for his quest to hoist the Crystal Globe on home soil in Aspen during World Cup Finals in 2017. He has a clear message to send...he's not retiring any time soon. Will 2017 be the year of the American Downhiller? Only time will tell...

FIRST TRACKS
Nyman was skiing at two and racing at eight for Sundance (while mowing Robert Redford's lawn in the summer), not far from his home and where Dad was the ski school chief. He shifted to Coach Rob Clayton's stellar Park City program for Winter ’99. He landed a few World Juniors medals and jumped immediately to the U.S. Ski Team.

OFF THE SNOW
Nyman is the man behind the www.fantasyskiracer.com mask. Think fantasy baseball for alpine skiing and you'll dig this site. Nyman is into adventure, especially with his pro freeskier brother Blake. Whether it's making powder turns at Sundance or kicking back in Hawaii, Nyman is usually keeping his fans up-to-speed on every social platform imaginable. Follow along.