 Ligety in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1984-08-31)August 31, 1984 (age 40) Salt Lake City,Utah,U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Giant slalom,super-G,slalom,combined | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Park City Ski Education Foundation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | November 22,2003 (age 19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | tedligety.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 4 – (2006,2010,2014,2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 2 (2 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 7 – (2005–15,2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 7 (5 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 18 – (2003–2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 25 – (24GS, 1SC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 52 – (1DH, 2SG, 41GS, 6SL, 2SC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 –(3rd –2013) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 5 – (5GS) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theodore Sharp Ligety (born August 31, 1984) is a retired Americanalpine ski racer, a two-timeOlympic gold medalist, and an entrepreneur, having cofoundedShred Optics.[1] Ligety won thecombined event at the2006 Olympics in Turin and thegiant slalom race at the2014 Olympics in Sochi. He is also a five-timeWorld Cup champion ingiant slalom (2008,2010,2011,2013 and2014).[2] Ligety won the gold medal in thegiant slalom at the2011 World Championships. He successfully defended his world title in giant slalom in2013 inSchladming, Austria, where he also won an unexpected gold medal in thesuper-G and a third gold medal in thesuper combined.[3]
Ligety planned to participate in the2021 World Championships inCortina d'Ampezzo but withdrew due to an injury, which prompted his retirement from ski racing in early February, 2021.[4][5] He finished his career with 25 victories (24 in giant slalom and 1 super combined) and 52 podiums in World Cup competition.[6] His Olympicgiant slalom gold medal, 24 GS World Cup wins, 3 GS world championship gold medals and 5 World Cup titles put him among the three greatest giant slalom skiers of all time, according to Ski-DB.[7]
Ligety was born inSalt Lake City,Utah, the son of Cyndi Sharp and Bill Ligety, who are real estate agents.[8][9] He grew up inPark City and began skiing at two and racing at ten. He attendedThe Winter Sports School and graduated in 2002. Ligety was named to the U.S. Skiing Development Team and won a silver medal in slalom in the Junior World Championships in 2004. He made his first start in a World Cup event during the2004 World Cup season in the giant slalom at Park City. In the summer of 2004, Ligety andU.S. Ski Team head coach Sasha Rearick studiedFu Style Tai Chi.[10][11] The next winter in the2005 season, Ligety was added to the U.S. Ski Team full-time, during which he had four top-15 finishes in slalom, placing 24th overall in the discipline.
Ligety recorded his first World Cup podium finish in the firstslalom of the season, atBeaver Creek in December, and followed that up with a second and a third during the next three slaloms. Ligety's first major victory of his professional career came at the2006 Winter Olympics inTurin, held atSestriere. Ligety won the gold medal in the men'scombined event, a major upset after the two racers favored to win the event failed to finish the slalom portion. At age 21, he became the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal inalpine skiing in a dozen years, sinceTommy Moe won thedownhill at the1994 Winter Olympics inLillehammer,Norway. Ligety also became just the fourth American male skier to win Olympic gold, along with Moe,Phil Mahre (slalom, 1984) andBill Johnson (downhill, 1984). At Turin, Ligety also participated in thegiant slalom and theslalom, but he failed to complete either event. Following his Olympic victory in the combined, Ligety recorded his firstWorld Cup victory, a win in the giant slalom inYongpyeong,South Korea. He finished ninth in the overall World Cup standings for the year, marking the first time that three American men had placed in the top 10 (along withBode Miller in third andDaron Rahlves in fourth), despite the fact that he did not compete in downhill orsuper-G that year. - It was a little surprise that Ted Ligety's first win was in a giant slalom because he wasn't known as a good giant slalom racer (he had only placed in the top ten in one race before, being 8th atSölden on October 23, 2005 - and he had bib-number 18, a number which is behind the top fifteen of the world; at that time he was far better in the slalom by finishing 3rd atBeaver Creek on December, 4th, and also atKranjska Gora in December 2005, and indeed finishing second atAdelboden on January 8). On that March 5, he was only 8th-placed after the first leg (with a deficite of 1.13 sec. behind leadingDavide Simoncelli but he was able to overtake all elite racers in the second leg). - It took long until he could achieve a second win (Kranjska Gora on March 8, 2008).
In the summer of 2006, Ligety changed his ski supplier fromVölkl toRossignol.[12] With Rahlves' retirement, Ligety began to compete in all five events. However, he managed only two podium finishes during the season, a second in slalom and a third in giant slalom. Disappointingly, he had three fourth-place finishes, one in giant slalom, one in super combined, and one in the World Cup finals downhill, as well as a fourth-place finish in thegiant slalom at the2007 World Championships inÅre,Sweden, missing a medal by 0.07 seconds. He finished eleventh overall in2007.
Ligety won his firstWorld Cup season title in thegiant slalom in2008, and finished fifth in the overall standings. He won the final two giant slaloms of the year atKranjska Gora andBormio to edge out two-time defending championBenjamin Raich ofAustria for the season title. He also recorded four other podium finishes: a second and a third in giant slalom and two third places in slalom. In addition to his title, Ligety ranked seventh in combined and ninth in slalom. When the last giant slalom race was started on March 14, Ligety was ahead to Raich with a margin of 27 points, but in that actual race he was only seventh-placed after the first leg while Raich was second-placed. But Ligety did do a phenomenal best time in the second leg, becoming first ahead to Raich.
Ligety opened defense of his 2008 giant slalom title with a third-place finish inSölden,Austria, and then placed second atBeaver Creek,Colorado. At the2009 World Championships inVal d'Isère,France, Ligety took the bronze medal in the giant slalom, then won his fourth World Cup race atKranjska Gora. He finished the season with another second at the finals inÅre,Sweden, which left him ranked third in GS and ninth overall for the season.Taking the bronze medal on February 13 (and starting with bib number 1) he had to strain because he was only ninth-placed (with a deficit of 1.71 sec. to leadinhCarlo Janka) after the first leg. In the second leg he took the lead und remained there untilBenjamin Raich overtook him with a margin of 0.28 sec.
Ligety notched his fifth World Cup victory in January, his third win atKranjska Gora in as many seasons. At the finals inGarmisch,Germany, he finished on the podium to secure his second season title in giant slalom, and finished seventh in the overall standings.
At the2010 Vancouver Olympics atWhistler, he finished ninth in thegiant slalom (on February 23, he was eighth-placed after the first leg, 0.60 sec. behind leadingCarlo Janka, but he couldn't do better in the second leg) and fifth in thesuper combined on February 21. He was fifteenth in the downhill portion and first in the one slalom run, to finish a half-second out of the medals. In the "special slalom" race (held on February 27; he had bib number 16), only a brief time elapsed when he came out of the course in the first leg.
After racing for four seasons onRossignol skis, Ligety switched his equipment supplier toHead in the summer of 2010,[13] as fellow American championsLindsey Vonn andBode Miller did in previous seasons. Ligety won his sixth World Cup race in December 2010, his first win on home snow in theU.S., taking the giant slalom by a substantial 0.82 seconds atBeaver Creek,Colorado, the site of his first podium five years earlier. It was the first World Cup victory in the U.S. (andNorth America) by an American male in four years; the last was by Bode Miller in the downhill at Beaver Creek in December2006. Six days later, Ligety won the next GS race inVal d'Isère,France, by over a full second.[14] He won his third consecutive GS race atAlta Badia,Italy, the following week.
In February he won his firstworld championship, taking gold in thegiant slalom at the2011 World Championships inGarmisch-Partenkirchen,Germany. Fourth after the first run, Ligety won by 0.08 seconds overCyprien Richard of France.[15] He won his third season title in giant slalom in 2011.[16]
Even though Ligety was able to win three giant slalom races during the season, he was dethroned as the discipline champion by an overall championMarcel Hirscher from Austria. Before the last giant slalom race which was held on March 17 atSchladming, Hirscher was in lead with 605 points ahead to Ted with 513 points. Therefore, Ted was forced to attack as powerful as he was able to do but he did fall in the first leg; he did continue but he finished on the 29th place (it was the last place), he had a deficite of 11.16 seconds to leading (it was not Hirscher, who was second)Hannes Reichelt. But Ted had lost; his only rehabilitation was that he could achieve the quickest time in the second leg, and finishing 25th (with a deficite of 10.03 seconds to Hirscher, who was victorious at last - but not gaining any point because in the final races there are only the best 15 can gain points).
Ligety was very skeptical of the new FIS rules for thegiant slalom, and cited David Dodge. Dodge stated that it was well known that if one tipped the new ski 7° more it would have the same turning radius than the old 27m ski. The greater knee angulation would then increase the risk of injury.[17][18][19][20][21] Doubts if the new rules would affect his level of skiing didn't last long as Ligety won the first race of the season inSoelden by a huge margin of 2.75 seconds overManfred Moelgg who finished second. The season turned out to be the best in Ligety's career as he finished on podium in all eight giant slalom races of the season and winning six of them. That feat helped him to regain the discipline title. In overall standings Ligety finished on the career best 3rd place.
Ligety made his season even more impressive by winning three gold medals at theWorld Championships inSchladming. The first gold he won surprisingly insuper-G race which was his first victory in the discipline in an international level. Ligety then won also thesuper combined event and successfully defended his title in thegiant slalom. It was the first time in 45 years that one male skier won three gold medals in one championships.[22]
Ligety won three giant slalom races prior to the2014 Olympics inSochi. On January 17, Ligety gained his 20th World Cup victory with a win in thesuper combined event inWengen, his first (and only) World Cup win outside the giant slalom discipline.
Entering the Olympics, Ligety was considered a favorite to medal in three disciplines, but he finished 12th in thesuper combined and 14th in thesuper-G. While under pressure as a big favorite to win a gold in thegiant slalom, Ligety began his first run with an attacking attitude and established a 0.93 second lead. He skied carefully on the second run to secure the first-ever gold medal for an American man in the discipline. Ligety became the first male American ski racer in history to win two Olympic gold medals in his career.[23]
After the Olympics, Ligety won the giant slalom inKranjska Gora for a record sixth time. At the season finals inLenzerheide he surprisingly finished second, tied withChristof Innerhofer, in the downhill race. The result was his first ever podium in downhill and made him only the second American skier in history, afterBode Miller, to podium in all five alpine skiing disciplines.[24][25] Ligety then finished fifth in the final super-G race. Before the last giant slalom race of the season Ligety was trailingMarcel Hirscher by 50 points for the discipline title. However, Ligety won the race on March 15 with a 0,03 second advantage overAlexis Pinturault and with Hirscher finishing fourth, both skiers ended the season tied with 560 points. The Crystal Globe was however awarded to Ligety who won due to having five discipline victories during the season compared to Hirscher's two. This was the fifth giant slalom title in Ligety's career.[26] - Hirscher lost the title in that last giant slalom race with a deficit of 0.01 seconds to the 3rd place (achieved byFelix Neureuther) which is awarded 60 points, therefore 10 points more than fourth place.
The 2015 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup season was less successful for Ligety as he was able to win just one race and finished third in the giant slalom standings and eleventh overall. At theFIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2015 held in Beaver Creek, Ligety finished third in thesuper combined event despite being ranked 29th after the downhill leg. In thegiant slalom, placed fifth after the first run and trailing by 0.24 to then leading favorite Marcel Hirscher, Ligety skied impressively in the second run, to finish 0.45 ahead of Hirscher and secure his third consecutive world title in the discipline.
Ligety won the season's first race, a giant slalom on October 25, 2015, atSölden, Austria. While training on January 27 atOberjoch,Germany, he tore theACL in his right knee, which required surgery and ended his2016 season.[27]
Ligety returned to World Cup racing in October 2016, competing in the prelude (giant slalom) race atSölden on October 23 (finishing 5th), and he finished 11th in the giant slalom on December 4 atVal d'Isère. He was not able to finish the following two giant slalom races due to back pain, and subsequently returned to the United States. On January 17, Ligety announced he would have season-ending back surgery.[28]
Ligety returned to the World Cup racing late in 2017, competing in the Super G atLake Louise on November 26 (DNF), and finishing seventh in the giant slalom on December 3, 2017, atBeaver Creek. He went on to compete at the FIS World Cup events inGarmisch-Partenkirchen,Wengen,Adelboden,Alta Badia, andVal d`Isere.[29]
Ligety was named to the US Olympic team on January 6, 2018[30] to compete in the combined, Super G, giant slalom, and slalom races at thePyeongChang Olympics.[31] He came in fifth in the men's combined event,[32] but following a disappointing finish in the giant slalom, he decided to skip the slalom event and leave South Korea early to focus on the World Cup.[33]
Ligety has won six national championships, putting him behind the all-time record of nine, held byBode Miller andTiger Shaw.
Following his Olympic gold medal at Turin, he startedShred Optics in 2006; Ligety designs all the products and uses them himself. The company produces ski goggles,sunglasses, and helmets.
Ligety served as the Director of Skiing for the now-bankrupt Mt. Holly Club, a private luxury ski and golf resort in southwestern Utah. It is located in easternBeaver County, on the site of the former Elk Meadows ski area (1971–84).[34][35]
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Giant slalom |
| 2010 | Giant slalom |
| 2011 | Giant slalom |
| 2013 | Giant slalom |
| 2014 | Giant slalom |
| CombinedA |
AUnofficial, tied withAlexis Pinturault
Ingemar Stenmark is the only racer with more GS season titles (8).
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 19 | 132 | 54 | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 20 | 62 | 24 | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 12 | — | — | 13 |
| 2007 | 22 | 11 | 15 | 8 | — | 35 | 11 |
| 2008 | 23 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 40 | — | 7 |
| 2009 | 24 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 21 | — | 44 |
| 2010 | 25 | 7 | 24 | 1 | 14 | — | 14 |
| 2011 | 26 | 9 | 24 | 1 | 35 | 58 | 13 |
| 2012 | 27 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 34 | 47 | 13 |
| 2013 | 28 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 7 | — | — |
| 2014 | 29 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 20 | 26 | 1 |
| 2015 | 30 | 11 | 39 | 3 | 39 | 58 | 11 |
| 2016 | 31 | 38 | 49 | 18 | 25 | — | — |
| 2017 | 32 | 84 | — | 27 | 55 | — | — |
| 2018 | 33 | 38 | — | 8 | — | — | 21 |
| 2019 | 34 | 51 | — | 20 | 47 | — | 13 |
| 2020 | 35 | 44 | — | 12 | 57 | — | — |
| 2021 | 36 | 121 | — | 41 | — | — | — |
Although a GS specialist, Ligety is among the few alpine ski racers to have a World Cup podium finish in all five disciplines. Both in2013 and2014, he was the racer with the most victories that season and among the top three with the most podiums.
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Mar 5, 2006 |  Yongpyong,South Korea | Giant slalom |
| 2008 | Mar 8, 2008 |  Kranjska Gora,Slovenia | Giant slalom |
| Mar 14, 2008 |  Bormio,Italy | Giant slalom | |
| 2009 | Feb 28, 2009 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom |
| 2010 | Jan 29, 2010 | Giant slalom | |
| 2011 | Dec 5, 2010 |  Beaver Creek,United States | Giant slalom |
| Dec 11, 2010 |  Val d'Isère,France | Giant slalom | |
| Dec 19, 2010 | Alta Badia, Italy | Giant slalom | |
| 2012 | Oct 23, 2011 |  Sölden,Austria | Giant slalom |
| Dec 6, 2011 | Beaver Creek, United States | Giant slalom | |
| Mar 10, 2012 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom | |
| 2013 | Oct 28, 2012 | Sölden, Austria | Giant slalom |
| Dec 2, 2012 | Beaver Creek, United States | Giant slalom | |
| Dec 16, 2012 | Alta Badia, Italy | Giant slalom | |
| Jan 12, 2013 |  Adelboden,Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| Mar 9, 2013 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom | |
| Mar 16, 2013 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 2014 | Oct 27, 2013 | Sölden, Austria | Giant slalom |
| Dec 8, 2013 | Beaver Creek, United States | Giant slalom | |
| Jan 17, 2014 | Wengen, Switzerland | Super combined | |
| Feb 2, 2014 | St Moritz, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| Mar 8, 2014 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom | |
| Mar 15, 2014 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 2015 | Dec 7, 2014 | Beaver Creek, United States | Giant slalom |
| 2016 | Oct 25, 2015 | Sölden, Austria | Giant slalom |
Ligety has won seven medals in theWorld Championships, five of them gold. He won three of them in giant slalom, after a bronze medal in2009 inVal d'Isère behindCarlo Janka andBenjamin Raich he won the GS world title in2011 bestingCyprien Richard andPhilipp Schörghofer. Ligety repeated as world champion in GS in2013, ahead ofMarcel Hirscher andManfred Mölgg and again in2015.
AtSchladming in 2013, he became a triple world champion ingiant slalom,super-G, andcombined atPlanai. Ligety became the fifth man in history to win three or more gold medals at one world championships and the first in 45 years, whenJean-Claude Killy won four in1968 atChamrousse, with the combined as a "paper race." Ligety is the first racer of either gender to win the super-G, giant slalom, and combined at one world championships.[3][36][37]
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 20 | DNF2 | — | — | — | 12 |
| 2007 | 22 | DNF1 | 4 | 31 | — | DNF2 |
| 2009 | 24 | DNF2 | 3 | DNF | — | DSQ1 |
| 2011 | 26 | 19 | 1 | DNF | — | DNF2 |
| 2013 | 28 | DNF1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 2015 | 30 | 21 | 1 | 9 | — | 3 |
| 2017 | 32 | Injured: did not compete | ||||
| 2019 | 34 | — | 11 | — | — | DNS2 |
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 21 | DSQ1 | DNF1 | — | — | 1 |
| 2010 | 25 | DNF1 | 9 | 19 | — | 5 |
| 2014 | 29 | DNF2 | 1 | 14 | — | 12 |
| 2018 | 33 | — | 15 | DNF | — | 5 |
Through aCiti charitable program, Ligety supportsYouth Enrichment Services, an organization located in Boston founded in 1968, that takes urban youth to the mountains and teaches them how to ski and snowboard.[38] He is married and has three children, a son born in 2017 and twin sons born in 2020.[39]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
