Andrew Weibrecht ‘03 Wins Super G Bronze
Andrew Weibrecht, from the Winter Sports School’s graduating class of 2003, may not yet be as much of a household name as his fellow WSS alums Julia Mancuso ‘00 and Ted Ligety ‘02, but that could change very soon. In alpine racing circles, Andrew first made the world sit up and take notice with his dramatic 2007 run down the Birds Of Prey downhill course in Beaver Creek, CO. You can watch a video of that performance at this link, and on that day it was good enough for tenth place. Yesterday, Andrew attacked the Vancouver Olympic Super G course with the same guts and go-for-broke attitude, and this time it earned him a bronze medal.
Andrew was the third racer to attack the course, and he had another moment reminiscent of his Birds Of Prey downhill as he desperately clung to his center of balance on one ski near the top of the course, but he then recovered to smoke the bottom section and cross the finish in the lead, though he didn’t expect to hold that position for long. “It’s the first time I’ve ever come down leading a race,” he said. “I figured I’d stay in there until about 10 guys came down and then guys would start putting fast runs. But I kept staying in there.”
In the end, he held off all but two of his rivals, and Andrew took the opportunity in post-race interviews — his big moment in the spotlight — to… deflect attention to others. “There have been so many people that have supported me,” he said. “This has been a team effort. I want to be gracious with it. I want people to be proud of my Olympic medal.”
On behalf of all of us at The Winter Sports School, Andrew, let me just say: “Done.”
As a side note, since we are a school and should mention notable academic sides of the story as well, Andrew also attends classes at Dartmouth College during the off season, and he currently has completed more than half of the credits required for his degree in Earth Science. So he’ll be hitting the books again soon. Keep that brain growing Andrew! Way to go — in more than one aspect of life.
