It was quite a 23rd birthday for Sun Valley native Shane Cordeau last Wednesday at Winter Park, Colo.
Cordeau and 26-year-old Laurel Shanley of Squaw Valley, Ca. represented the U.S. Freestyle Moguls Team well at the U.S. Selections competition in Winter Park. Cordeau and Shanley won their two-run competitions by generous margins.
Fastest competitor on course by a second and winner of both runs, Cordeau celebrated his 23rd birthday with the victory. Last winter's Nor-
Am moguls king with two wins, Cordeau beat out a tough field to take the top step of the podium.
"Best birthday ever," said Cordeau, a first-year "C" team competitor whose fast style of skiing energizes the crowd and judges. "It's U.S. Ski Team Selections which kind of determines your whole season."
"I ended up getting a good draw, went out of the gate early and skied a good run qualifying first," said Cordeau. "The second run I went last. I went big off the top air getting a lot of speed coming out, so I held on and ended up winning."
A press release from the Sun Valley Ski Education stated, "This is a major accomplishment for Shane. He has the momentum going now to make his Olympic dream come true."
Both 6-2, 165-pound Cordeau and the 5-9, 160-pound Shanley set the bar high for the season showing that they are competing to win and for World Cup starts. The U.S. Freestyle Team athletes, who competed in Wednesday's competition, killed it, showing the depth, drive, and dedication of the Team's future.
<
In his U.S. Ski Team bio, Cordeau is described this way: "With his invigorating personality and unique turning style, Cordeau challenges every competitor on the circuit. He reveals his passion for moguls skiing through his lively character."
Competing in freestyle since the age of 11, Cordeau is the son of four-time moguls world champion Joey Cordeau of Ketchum. "Out of all the mountains I've skied, Sun Valley is still the best," Shane has said.
Other Sun Valley finishers Wednesday were Sophia Schwartz in fifth place among the women and Bartley Damon, 15th for the men. Wednesday's winner, Laurel Shanley, is one of the only women using inverted tricks on her mogul runs.
U.S. Freestyle Selections awards the top finishers with valuable World Cup starts. The starts will be allotted next month at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah and at Lake Placid, N.Y.
The World Cup starts provide the athletes an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Team. In 2002, both U.S Olympic silver medalists Shannon Bahrke and Travis Mayer came out of the U.S. Freestyle Selections to get World Cup starts and eventually win Olympic medals.
U.S. Olympic team trials for men's and women's moguls will be staged today, Wednesday, Dec. 23 at Steamboat Springs, Colo. It's a winner-takes-all competition with one men's Olympic spot and one women's Olympic berth on the line.
Moguls head coach Scott Rawles said, "It's a different dynamic with it being just our team. I think it's a fun concept that you can punch your Olympic ticket in 50 seconds."
The event is scheduled to air on NBC television Saturday, Dec. 26 at 12:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
The complete 2010 U.S. Olympic Teams for freestyle and Nordic combined will be determined primarily from season-long World Cups and will be named in January.
