A Little About My Life

My name is Kris Shampeny. I am a 21 year old from Manhattan, Montana who competes in downhill alpine ski racing. For as long as I can remember, all I have ever wanted to do is ski. Maybe this is because I practically grew up on the ski hill. I didn't play sports for the school, I skied. It just seemed like the thing to do. All of my good friends did it, and the big bonus was that my father, John Shampeny, was a ski coach for the Bridger Ski Foundation. It was just the natural thing for me to do while growing up. I was just a skier until the age of seven. Then one evening, as I watched the Winter Olympics from Lillehammer Norway, I saw history unfold before my eyes. I had just watched a no name kid from Glenwood, Alaska named Tommy Moe win the Olympic Gold metal in the men's downhill event. This is where my passion for ski racing took hold of me. Ever since that night when I watched Tommy win the gold, all I have ever wanted to do is race in the Olympics for the United States.

So far, my goal to reach this level of ski racing has been a slow process through out the years. I watched kids who were my age that I had beaten as a junior skier now start to rise to a new level, a level that I was not quite at yet in my technique and ability. As these racers grew older, they may have had more talent than me in some areas of the sport, but I had something they did not. Dedication, resolve, and a driving will to get better than them.

This is when I started to get better. I have had some very promising races through out the past season. I was slowly getting better, but I was still missing something. My hard work and determination to get stronger and faster than the others finally came to a head at the Canadian Springs Series race held at Panorama, British Colombia. I had the best races of my life. I was starting at the 40th position on the first runs and finishing in the top 20 for the second runs. I then progressed to get third on the second run and finished in 13th position over all.

Now I have reached beyond the level of ski racing that my fellow competitors were at, and I know that I can make the next jump to the U.S. ski team and World Cup races. Last season I dropped my points by over half and have the same goal for the next season of 2007/2008. I am stronger than I have ever been before and skiing faster than I have ever skied before. I believe whole heartedly that I can make it.