Jonna Mendes (born March 31, 1979) is a formerWorld Cupalpine ski racer from theUnited States. She specialized in the speed events and raced for nine seasons on the World Cup circuit. Mendes competed in twoWinter Olympics and fourWorld Championships. She was the bronze medalist in the Super G at the2003 World Championships inSt. Moritz, Switzerland.[3]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1979-03-21)March 21, 1979 (age 46) Santa Cruz,California | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Downhill,super-G | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Heavenly Ski & Snowboard Fnd | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | March 7,1997 (age 17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | May 2006 (age 27)[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 2 – (1998,2002) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 4 – (1999–2005) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (0 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 9 – (1998–2006) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 –(25th in2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 0 –(13th inSG,2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born inSanta Cruz on theCalifornia coast, Mendes began skiing at age four when her family moved to theLake Tahoe area in theSierra Nevada mountains. She made her World Cup debut in March1997 and retired from international competition in May2006.[2]
Mendes won four U.S. titles: two ingiant slalom (2001, 2002) and two indownhill (2004, 2005). The first came atThe Big Mountain inWhitefish, Montana,[4] but was followed by a broken foot the next day, incurred in a crash near the end of her second run in the slalom.[5] She repeated the next year atSquaw Valley,.[6] She won her first downhill title atAlyeska inAlaska, and won again atMammoth, inCalifornia, the following year.[7][8]
After racing
editMendes attended college inNew York City and dedicated her time to working with theU.S. Ski Team's national alpine development system. In 2008, she was the recipient ofU.S. Ski Team's Russell Wilder award, which is given annually to recognize the most outstanding effort in focusing the interests of American youth on the sports of skiing or snowboarding. In 2011, Mendes moved toSun Valley, Idaho to help found the newSun Valley Ski Academy. Under her leadership, eleven student-athletes have been named to US National Alpine, Nordic, Para Alpine, and Snowboard Teams.[9][10][11] In recognition for her service to the local ski racing community, Mendes was named to the 2023 Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame.[12]
World Cup results
editTop ten finishes
edit| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Nov 30, 2000 | Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill | 10th |
| Dec 1, 2000 | Downhill | 6th | ||
| 2002 | Dec 1, 2001 | Lake Louise, Canada | Super-G | 10th |
| 2003 | Nov 29, 2002 | Aspen, USA | Super G | 10th |
| Dec 6, 2002 | Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill | 9th | |
| Dec 8, 2002 | Super G | 9th | ||
| Jan 17, 2003 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Super G | 8th | |
| Jan 18, 2003 | Downhill | 5th | ||
| Feb 28, 2003 | Innsbruck, Austria | Super G | 8th | |
| 2004 | Dec 20, 2003 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | Downhill | 5th |
Season standings
edit| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 18 | 105 | — | — | 47 | — | — |
| 1999 | 19 | 77 | — | — | 42 | 40 | — |
| 2000 | 20 | 65 | — | — | 44 | 28 | 13 |
| 2001 | 21 | 37 | — | — | 29 | 17 | — |
| 2002 | 22 | 67 | — | — | 24 | 29 | — |
| 2003 | 23 | 25 | — | 53 | 13 | 16 | — |
| 2004 | 24 | 64 | — | — | 50 | 23 | — |
| 2005 | 25 | 64 | — | — | 35 | 26 | — |
| 2006 | 26 | 100 | — | — | 58 | 50 | — |
World Championship results
edit| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 19 | — | — | 26 | 25 | 9 |
| 2001 | 21 | — | — | 18 | 20 | 9 |
| 2003 | 23 | — | — | 3 | 6 | — |
| 2005 | 25 | — | — | — | 12 | — |
Olympic results
edit
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 18 | — | — | 32 | 17 | 14 |
| 2002 | 22 | — | — | 16 | 11 | — |
References
edit- ^"U.S. skier Jonna Mendes retires".Bangor Daily News. Maine. May 3, 2006. p. C5.
- ^ab"World Championships medalist Jonna Mendes retires after 10 seasons". Ski Racing.com. May 2, 2006. RetrievedDecember 12, 2015.
- ^"Clark, Mendes medal in Super-G". MountainZone.com. (U.S. Ski Team). February 3, 2003. RetrievedDecember 12, 2015.
- ^Corte, Tim (March 28, 2001)."GS victory surprises Mendes".Bangor Daily News. Maine. Associated Press. p. C4.
- ^"Mendes crashes, needs surgery".Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. March 29, 2001. p. 3C.
- ^"Mendes wins Giant Slalom title".Fayetteville Observer. North Carolina. wire services. March 19, 2002. p. 6C.
- ^"Freidmann captures downhill title".Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. March 20, 2004. p. 3C.
- ^"The winner and still U.S. downhill champion: Tahoe's Jonna Mendes".Tahoe Daily Tribune. South Lake Tahoe. April 3, 2005. RetrievedApril 17, 2024.
- ^Williams, Eric (October 11, 2011)."Mendes joins Sun Valley Ski Academy staff". Ski Racing.com. RetrievedDecember 12, 2015.
- ^"Jonna Mendes named Ski Academy recruiting director".Idaho Mountain Express. Ketchum. October 14, 2011. RetrievedDecember 12, 2015.
- ^Cordes, Jeff (December 13, 2013)."Ski Academy a good fit for Jonna Mendes".Idaho Mountain Express. Ketchum. RetrievedDecember 12, 2015.
- ^"Jonna Mendes Went from Skiing's Top Tier to Helping Kids Reach for the Top".Eye on Sun Valley. Ketchum. December 7, 2023. RetrievedApril 17, 2024.
External links
edit- Jonna Mendes at theInternational Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Jonna Mendes World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
- Jonna Mendes at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Jonna Mendes atOlympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Sun Valley Ski Academy – Jonna's blog