Olympic Medalist Andrew Weibrecht To Help Restart Paul Smith's College's Alpine Ski Team

Olympic silver and bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht has been picked to guide the relaunch of the Alpine skiing program at Paul Smith's College, a small school in the Adirondacks.

Weibrecht, 34, retired from skiing two years ago. He will assume a lead role in creating a new Alpine program. Members of the men's and women's teams will be able to train and compete at nearby Whiteface Mountain, which hosted Alpine skiing at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

"The Division I world has gotten crazy competitive, both admissions into these colleges and getting slots on the team, which often go hand in hand," he said. "If you're being recruited by the team, it does help you get into the school itself."

Weibrecht is a three-time Olympian who won medals in super G at Sochi and Vancouver. He will bring 16 years of national and international experience with the U.S. ski team to the school. Weibrecht, 34, retired from skiing two years ago. Born and raised in Lake Placid, Weibrecht grew up and raced on the challenging slopes of nearby Whiteface Mountain, which hosted the alpine events at the 1980 Winter Olympics. The fourth of five siblings, Weibrecht learned how to be a technical skier through the direction of the New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF) program.

Weibrecht made his World Cup debut on November 30, 2006 at Beaver Creek and became a full-time World Cup racer during the 2008 season. He competed in three events in his debut at the World Championships in 2009 in Val d'Isère, earning his best finish of 39th in the super-G event.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Weibrecht finished 21st in the downhill at Whistler Creekside. Four days later, Weibrecht won the bronze medal in the super-G.

Weibrecht missed most of the 2011 season due to injuries. After shoulder surgery in the spring, he raced in just five speed events, all before Christmas, and failed to break into the top 30 for World Cup points. While slalom training in late December, he injured the other shoulder and sat out the rest of season, which included the 2011 World Championships.

Weibrecht won the silver medal in the super-G in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, besting teammate Bode Miller, who tied for the bronze. A surprise medalist, he started 29th at Rosa Khutor and was in the lead at every split, except for the very last

Besides the two Olympic medals, Weibrecht’s resume would include 11 top 10 World Cup finishes, two podiums, and participation on three Olympic and World Championship teams. “I raced in an era of arguably some of the best guys who ever speed raced on the World Cup. I have no regrets,” he says.

Paul Smith's, the only four-year college in the Adirondack Mountains, is committed to bringing more sports to its campus. The addition of Alpine skiing for 2021-22 comes after the school added Nordic skiing, biathlon, hockey, trap shooting and esports, giving the school 27 varsity sports programs.