By Polly Lynn
updated
Wed, Jan 25, 2012 03:07 PM
Hannah Teter from Belmont, Vt. grew up riding at Okemo with her
four older brothers. Since those early days she has won the gold
medal in halfpipe at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games (she was just 19
years old) as well as six World Cup victories.
Hannah competed in the first stop on the Dew Tour in Breckenridge
but couldn't put her run together and missed the cut. "The sideline
is not the spot for me," she said. Female snowboarders did not
compete at Killington but will be back for the final stop in
Utah.
Teter has seven more major competitions lined up for the remainder
of the season: the Aspen X games (on January 27 her 25th birthday),
the Canadian Open, the Dew Tour in Utah, the Oslo World
Championships, the Burton European Open, the Burton US Open and the
European X games. On a momentary break from training, Teter came to
Killington to support her friends and her newest sponsor, Pantech.
We are pleased that she took a moment to share her thoughts with
us:
1) You began your snowboarding
career right here at Okemo Mountain School strongly influenced by
your four older brothers. How did your early days on the Vermont
slopes help shape you into the professional rider you are
today?
Growing up on the backside of Okemo was a blessing. My mom worked
for the ski patrol and got us all free season passes. I had four
older brother so we were always up there… my brothers were into
competition and I just loved to watch and learn.
When I was young everyone just knew me as the kid that was never
afraid, I would just go for it no matter what condition it
was.
Then, when I was 15-16, Okemo Mountain School gave me a full
scholarship. I was their first year-round student. I didn't want to
go back to public school.
2) In 2003, at age 16, you became
the youngest member of the US Snowboarding Team. How did life
change for you then?
I definitely started traveling more internationally and it was
just another outlook on snowboarding because they had the coaches
and the trainers and the waxers… just the full-on professionalism
of it. It made me realize that this is a professional sport and not
just a fun thing that I did during school with my friends.
I also started training at iSport here in Killington. They have
the best guys and have trained a lot of really successful (and
famous) athletes; that was wake up call too.
3) How did you first get
noticed?
I was doing really well when I was 15-16 and I made the youth
forerunning team for the Park City Olympics and after that,
probably the Italy Olympics and the Gold there kind of escalated
everything… myself, I knew I had made it after my first grand prix.
All the best girls were there and I was like 15-16 years old and I
was like 'I can really get into this. This is rad!'
4) What is daily life like as a
professional snowboarder? Where do you spend most of your time? Do
you keep in touch with friends from home?
I don't really spend most of my time anywhere. I travel a lot, but
it's been awesome for me, because once I was out of high school I
didn't have to do any homework anymore it was just snowboarding and
traveling and going to photo shoots and whatever was next.
I meet up with friends from home whenever I'm on the East Coast…
but I don't get to see them as much as I'd like.
I probably come back to Vermont 4-5 times per year and spend a
week or two each time. It is super grounding to come back,
especially since my parents have a place way up in the woods, it's
so majestic and quiet up there.
5) What is something folks might not
expect about the lifestyle of a snowboard
professional?
Life is pretty straight forward, I guess, for me. But one thing
folks might not expect is that I do a lot of hula hooping. One
summer I took off from training and went to Hawaii and was just
hula hooping, it was really therapeutic and good for cross
training.
6) Back to the competition for a
second. I imagine it's very nerve racking up there with a lot of
pressure to perform. What is going through your mind before
dropping in on a run? Is there a pep talk?
10 minutes beforehand there might be a little "pep talk," just to
get me psyched up as I prepare for the run I want to do. But right
before I drop in I already know what's going to happen so I just
try to relax. Music helps with that and sometimes I'll do stretches
or other moving exercises to stay in the bubble of good energy. If
you're not there you're run doesn't usually come together. You
don't want any of that questioning stuff.
7) Over the past 10 years you have
placed extraordinarily well in many competitions worldwide
including winning the gold medal in halfpipe at the 2006 Winter
Games in Torino, Italy. What is the next medal you are now aiming
for?
I'm definitely getting psyched for Russia. (The next winter
Olympics in 2014.) My goal is to be on the podium there. My goal is
to get there and slay it.
8) In 2009 Ben & Jerry's limited
edition flavor "Maple Blondie" was created in your honor. How did
that happen? What was the process of deciding what went into your
flavor?
It was really fun. I went and taste-tested with Jerry. They asked
me what I liked piece-by-piece. Of course, it had to be maple so I
started with that, then I tasted a lot of different brownies and
picked my favorite and so on.
They just reached out to me and asked if I would be interested. I
was the first girl and first athlete to have a flavor. It was an
honor and a lot of fun.
9) Lastly, what advice do you have
for young Vermont kids who have dreams of going
pro?
Don't be afraid. You can do much more than you think if you just
go for it.
Tagged:
Hannah Teter
