American · Durham, North Carolina, USA · Born 28 June 1976American snowboarder and two-time Olympic snowboard cross champion, who won the event's first-ever Olympic gold in 2006 and successfully defended it in 2010.
Seth Wescott was born on 28 June 1976 in Durham, North Carolina, and grew up in Farmington, Maine, where his father coached track and cross country at Colby College. He began snowboarding at age 10 after growing up ski racing, and attended the renowned Carrabassett Valley Academy, training alongside future Olympians including alpine skier Bode Miller. Wescott competed internationally in halfpipe until 2003 before committing fully to snowboard cross, a discipline that suited his technical precision, stamina, and knack for peaking at major events. When snowboard cross made its Olympic debut at the 2006 Turin Games, Wescott won the first-ever gold medal in the event, becoming the first person from Maine to win Winter Olympic gold. He turned down an invitation to meet President George W. Bush afterward, citing policy disagreements. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Wescott overcame a modest 17th-place qualifying result to fight through the elimination rounds, ultimately edging home favorite Mike Robertson of Canada by a slim margin on the final jump to defend his Olympic title. He missed the 2014 Sochi Games due to injury. Across his career he won 12 World Cup medals and 7 X Games medals. After retiring from competition, Wescott co-owned Winterstick Snowboards and The Rack restaurant near his hometown of Sugarloaf, Maine, and continued competing recreationally, winning the pro class at the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom in both 2019 and 2020.
Winning the first-ever Olympic gold medal in snowboard cross and successfully defending the title four years later
How They Played
Technically precise, tactically patient snowboard cross racer renowned for peaking at the biggest events and finishing strongly in elimination heats
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of the founding champions of Olympic snowboard cross, whose back-to-back titles established the standard for the discipline's early era
Career Honours
- 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, Snowboard Cross (2006, 2010)
- First-ever Olympic snowboard cross champion
- First Winter Olympic gold medalist from the state of Maine
- 7x Winter X Games medalist
American Athletes