USSA Bio 2002/03
Guitar-playing, Dartmouth senior and four-event skier Bryon Friedman moves up to the Ski Team this winter after solid across-the-board results a year ago and a couple seasons with the development squad.
He rebounded nicely last winter from an early season injury and was a near-miss for the Olympic Team. This winter, he has his sights squarely on qualifying for his first World Championships. The irony: poor weather and a DNF in a Europa Cup DH in St. Moritz – scene of this season's championships – undercut Friedman's Olympic bid.
Comment: "I couldn't tell you, one year to the next, what's going to be my best event – last year my GS was best but I've been skiing strong downhill and I think there's a real opportunity there for me to make my World Cup debut, get some points and race in the World Championships. I think it's all really do-able."
Start-up: Born in Atlanta, he moved to Park City when Dad, a Delta pilot, grabbed an opportunity to relocate in 1988. He started skiing at 3, became a ski racer at about 9 when the family settled in Park City.
After winning super G gold and GS silver at the '99 North American Junior Championships in Quebec, Friedman tore ligaments in his right knee during a training camp in '99, still had 18 race starts that winter. He also had a torn right ACL, which wiped out the last two months of his '01 season. He raced at two World Juniors.
Getaway: He grabbed a week with friends on Oahu and Kauai in July, which recharged him for the second half of preseason rigors. "I needed to stick my toes in the ocean," Friedman grinned.
School: He's a senior, majoring in history, with about three quarters left at Dartmouth.
Gotta-have: "I take my guitar wherever I go. I have an electric but don't travel with that one. I started playing senior year in high school. It's a nice release from day-to-day stresses."
Other fun: Friedman also enjoys fly-fishing and has gone pheasant and turkey hunting a few times with his dad.
Coaching: Head Coach Phil McNichol was Friedman's coach with the Park City Ski Team. "I worked with him when I was 14 and 15, and then I moved to the Development Team, and he moved, too. We know each other very well. He's all about communication – a good observers, got a great eye and he's learned how to communicate. I'm psyched for him."
Sibling (no) rivalry: His younger brother races for the University of Denver, the defending NCAA champ.
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