American · Bennington, Vermont, USA · Born 10 February 1979American snowboarder considered snowboarding's first child prodigy, who won America's first-ever Olympic snowboard medal in 1998 and led a historic U.S. podium sweep in halfpipe at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Ross Powers was born on 10 February 1979 in Bennington, Vermont, and raised in South Londonderry, receiving his first snowboard as a Christmas gift at age seven. Dubbed snowboarding's first child prodigy, he competed in his first U.S. Open at just nine years old and had won U.S. Nationals and joined the national team by 15. At the 1998 Nagano Olympics - snowboarding's Olympic debut - Powers won bronze in halfpipe, the first-ever Olympic medal for an American snowboarder. He continued to dominate the sport through the following seasons, winning the 2000 FIS World Championship, Goodwill Games, and Gravity Games titles. His career peak came a day after his 23rd birthday at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where he led a historic American sweep of the halfpipe podium - the first U.S. sweep of a Winter Olympic event since figure skating in 1956 - winning gold with a score of 46.1 that included a then-world-record 18-foot method grab. After narrowly missing the 2006 Olympic team, Powers shifted to snowboard cross in 2007, eventually finishing 11th in the World Cup rankings and just missing selection for the 2010 Vancouver Games. He became Director of Snowboarding at the Stratton Mountain School in 2010 and founded the Ross Powers Foundation in 2001 to fund promising athletes regardless of financial background, later partnering with Michael Phelps to create the Level Field Fund. In 2022, twenty years after his gold medal, he became the first Olympic gold medalist to earn FIS halfpipe technical delegate accreditation.
Winning America's first-ever Olympic snowboard medal in 1998 and leading a historic U.S. podium sweep in halfpipe at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics
How They Played
Powerful, amplitude-driven halfpipe rider known for record-setting grabs and consistent technical execution at the highest level of competition
Lasting Impact
Remembered as snowboarding's first American child prodigy and one of halfpipe's most decorated pioneers, whose foundation has since helped fund a generation of promising young athletes
Career Honours
- 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist, Halfpipe
- 1998 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Halfpipe (first U.S. Olympic snowboard medal)
- 1996 World Champion, Halfpipe
- 2x X Games Gold Medalist
American Athletes