// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Sarah Schleper's ski go to therapy? It had a downhill problem.
 American alpine skier Sarah Schleper after the first run of the giant slalom in Semmering (Austria) on 28 December 2010. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sarah Schleper de Gaxiola |
| Born | February 19, 1979 |
| Spouse | Federico Gaxiola |
| Skiing career | |
| Country |  United States Mexico |
| Sport | Alpine skiing |
| Club | Ski and Snowboard Club Vail |
| Disciplines | Slalom, giant slalom, super-G |
World Cup debut | 18 November 1996 (age 17) |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 7 – (1998–2010, 2018–2026) |
| Medals | 0 |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 11 – (2001–2005, 2009–2011, 2015–2025) |
| Medals | 0 |
| World Cup | |
| Seasons | 19 – (1996–2006, 2009–2012, 2015–2016, 2018, 2022) |
| Wins | 1 – (1 SL) |
| Podiums | 4 – (3 SL, 1 GS) |
Overall titles | 0 – (17th in 2004 and 2005) |
Discipline titles | 0 – (5th in SL, 2005) |
Sarah Schleper[1] (born February 19, 1979), also known as Sarah Schleper de Gaxiola,[1] is an alpine skier whose career started in 1995. She competed for the United States in four Winter Olympics from 1998-2010, and later competed for Mexico at the Winter Olympics in 2018, 2022 and 2026.
Career
[edit]Her lone World Cup victory was at a slalom event in Switzerland in 2005.[2] Her best finish at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships was seventh in the slalom event at Santa Caterina (near Bormio) in 2005.
Schleper also competed in four Winter Olympics for USA,[1] earning her best finish of tenth in the slalom event at Turin in 2006. Schleper was named to the US team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in late 2009. Schleper announced her retirement shortly before competing in her last world cup slalom on December 29, 2011, in Lienz, Austria.[3] In her career spanning a total of 15 years, she took part in 186 World Cup races and achieved four podium finishes and one victory.
In keeping with the tradition that allows retiring skiers to wear whatever they choose, Schleper raced in a thin brown summer dress, bare-armed and bare-legged. Midway down the course, she stopped to scoop up her toddler son and carried him in her arms the rest of the way down, delighting the crowd and her fellow competitors.[4] At the finish, Lindsey Vonn greeted her with a long hug, and race organizers presented her with a huge bouquet of roses.[5] At the same race, Mikaela Shiffrin reached the podium for her first time, causing Schleper to believe she would soon be surpassed as the top American ski racer.[6]
After acquiring Mexican citizenship in April 2014, she came out of retirement in June to represent Mexico.[7] She raced for Mexico in the women's giant slalom at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2015.[8] When she joined the Mexican ski team, she doubled the size of the team, serving alongside Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a long time sole representative for Mexico at the world circuit.[1]
Schleper competed for Mexico at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. Her Olympic effort is self-funded. She represents one of two athletes for Alpine Mexico, the other being Rodolfo Dickson.[1][9][10][11][12] She qualified for the 2018 Olympics, alongside Rodolfo Dickson, freestyler Roberto Franco, and cross-country skier Germán Madrazo.[13][14]
Schleper qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics, her third with Mexico and seventh overall, and was selected as one of the team's flag bearers during the opening ceremony. Her son, Lasse Gaxiola, also qualified in men's alpine skiing, making them the first mother-son duo in Winter Olympics history to compete in the same year.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Sarah's father is Buzz Schleper, who owns a ski shop in Vail, Colorado.[16] She is married to Federico Gaxiola and acquired Mexican citizenship via her spouse in April 2014. As of 2014, she lived in both Vail and Mexico.[7]
World Cup results
[edit]Season standings
[edit]| Season | |||||||
| Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
| 1998 | 19 | 102 | — | 46 | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 20 | 90 | 51 | 43 | — | — | — |
| 2000 | 21 | 50 | 21 | 25 | — | — | — |
| 2001 | 22 | 23 | 11 | 21 | — | — | — |
| 2002 | 23 | 22 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 24 | 22 | 12 | 21 | — | — | — |
| 2004 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 12 | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 26 | 17 | 5 | 20 | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 27 | 65 | 27 | 36 | — | — | — |
| 2007 | 28 | did not compete: birth her child | |||||
| 2008 | 29 | ||||||
| 2009 | 30 | 97 | 55 | 41 | — | — | — |
| 2010 | 31 | 54 | 26 | 20 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | 32 | 53 | 30 | 22 | — | — | — |
| 2012 | 33 | 107 | — | 48 | — | — | — |
Race podiums
[edit]| Season | ||||
| Date | Location | Discipline | Place | |
| 2001 | December 10, 2000 |  Sestriere, Italy | Slalom | 2nd |
| December 30, 2000 |  Semmering, Austria | Giant slalom | 3rd | |
| 2004 | March 13, 2004 | Sestriere, Italy | Slalom | 2nd |
| 2005 | March 12, 2005 |  Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Slalom | 1st |
World Championship results
[edit]| Year | ||||||
| Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
| Representing the United States | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 22 | DNF1 | DNF1 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 24 | DNF1 | DNF1 | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 26 | 7 | 13 | — | — | — |
| 2009 | 30 | 28 | 31 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | 32 | DNF2 | 50 | — | — | — |
| Representing Mexico | ||||||
| 2015 | 36 | DNF1 | 50 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 38 | DNF1 | 41 | 37 | 38 | 27 |
| 2019 | 40 | — | 42 | 29 | — | — |
| 2021 | 42 | — | 41 | — | — | — |
| 2023 | 44 | — | DSQ1 | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 46 | — | 37 | — | — | N/a |
Olympic results 
[edit]
| Year | ||||||
| Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
| Representing United States | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 19 | 22 | DNF2 | — | — | — |
| 2002 | 23 | DNF1 | 21 | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 27 | 10 | DNF2 | — | — | — |
| 2010 | 31 | 16 | 14 | — | — | — |
| Representing Mexico | ||||||
| 2018 | 39 | — | DNF2 | 41 | — | — |
| 2022 | 43 | — | 37 | 35 | — | — |
| 2026 | 47 | — | DSQ1 | 26 | — | N/a |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 Tik Root (March 6, 2015). "Mariachi Man: Prince Hubertus and the Mexican ski team he helped create". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ "FIS-Ski - resultats".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ The Washington Post[dead link]
- ↑ https://www.sportsnet.ca/more/schleper-retires/
- ↑ https://www.deseret.com/2011/12/29/20241022/us-skier-schleper-retires-after-15-wcup-seasons/
- ↑ Alfonso, Denny (February 10, 2026). "Mexico's mother-son Alpine skiing duo set to make Winter Olympics history". The Athletic. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- 1 2 Meyer, John (June 9, 2014). "Alpine ski racer Sarah Schleper coming out of retirement at age 35". Denver Post. Denver, Colorado. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Double bonus for dual citizen Schleper at worlds". Yahoo Sports. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ↑ Adriana Terrazas (October 31, 2017). "'Tres' company for the Mexico ski team in the Winter Olympics". ESPN.
- ↑ "Tres mexicanos acudirán a Pyeongchang 2018" (in Spanish). Esportes.MX. May 18, 2017. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ↑ "México estará presente en los Juegos Olímpicos Invernales de 2018" (in Spanish). SIPSE.com. August 11, 2017.
- ↑ Carlos Alberto Cruz (February 23, 2017). "México con cuatro o cinco atletas a Pyeongchang 2018". El Big Data.
- ↑ Luis Gomez (February 9, 2018). "How to root for Team Mexico in the 2018 Winter Olympics". San Diego Union-Tribune.
- ↑ Abigail Parra (February 7, 2018). "Delegación mexicana en PyeonChang 2018, la más grande desde 1992" (in Spanish). mediotiempo.
- ↑ https://www.12news.com/article/sports/olympics/mexico-alpine-skiers-mother-son-duo-first-winter-olympics/507-6af9b352-b2a0-47a1-8d84-0c8de10e9d98
- ↑ John O’Neill (March 13, 2016). "How to be a 'ski bum': Buzz Schleper has built a successful business from catering to the ski crowds". VailDaily weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
External links
[edit]
- Sarah Schleper at FIS (alpine)
- Sarah Schleper at Olympics.com
- Sarah Schleper at TeamUSA.com
- Sarah Schleper at TeamUSA.org (archived)
- Sarah Schleper at Olympedia
- Sarah Schleper at InterSportStats
- Sarah's U.S. Olympic Team bio (archived)
- Sarah Schleper at Milano Cortina 2026
- Sarah Schleper on Instagram
- 1979 births
- People from Glenwood Springs, Colorado
- Alpine skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- American female alpine skiers
- Mexican female alpine skiers
- Olympic alpine skiers for the United States
- Olympic alpine skiers for Mexico
- Naturalized citizens of Mexico
- American emigrants to Mexico
- Mexican people of American descent
- Living people
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- 20th-century American sportswomen
- 21st-century Mexican sportswomen
- Skiers from Colorado