Maddie Bowman burst onto the halfpipe scene in 2012, and into the history books two years later by winning the first Olympic gold medal in women’s halfpipe skiing. The South Lake Tahoe native had a season-ending injury in 2015, but she was back in action in 2016, topping podiums around the world.

With an Olympic gold medal and seven X Games medals, including four gold, Bowman is one of the most decorated female freeskiers in history. She earned her fourth-consecutive gold at X Games Aspen in 2016 with a run that included back-to-back 900s and the first switch 900 ever thrown by a female skier in competition. In 2016 Bowman also won the Park City stop of the U.S. Grand Prix and topped the AFP halfpipe rankings; it was a season that was particularly sweet after rehabbing from a torn ACL and microfracture to her right knee suffered in February of 2015.  

Bowman clinched her ticket to Sochi in 2014 by earning podium finishes at four of the five Olympic qualification events (two of them were wins). Coming in on such a hot streak it was no surprise when she turned up the heat in Sochi, putting down two unbeatable runs to take home the gold medal. 

As a high school senior, Maddie Bowman came onto the women’s freeskiing circuit with some serious gusto. Her 2012 breakout season featured podiums at nearly every major event. She sealed a victory at the Killington, VT Dew Tour stop and also took third at Snowbasin, UT, which merited an invite to her very first X Games in Aspen and resulted in a silver medal. Bowman’s first X Games gold came in 2013, followed by a bronze at X Games Tignes and victories at both stops of the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix. She then topped it all off with her first AFP halfpipe title.

FIRST TRACKS
Bowman's parents were both skiers. Her father was on the professional racing circuit and her mother raced in the Far West division and later became a coach. Her parents started her on skis on her second birthday on a small slope behind Sierra-at-Tahoe's lodge, the mountain that she now represents. After going through every ski racing program at Sierra-at-Tahoe (Rippers, Buddy Werner and the Foundation), Bowman had a change of heart and fell in love with freeskiing instead.

OFF THE SNOW
This proud California girl enjoys everything the outdoors has to offer—from mountain biking, hiking and beaching to wakeboarding and backpacking. Bowman is also taking classes at Westminster College, which helps keep her mind sharp and gives her a welcome distraction during competition season. She says, “In the summer I try to do something outdoors every day. I try to live a really active life and am easily bored when I have too much down time. If I'm not competing or training and I have an opportunity to ski, you can definitely find me on the hill.”