Dane Spencer

Dane Spencer
— Alpine skier —
Disciplines Giant Slalom, Super G
Club Bogus Basin Ski
Education Foundation
Born (1977-12-24) December 24, 1977
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
World Cup debut November 25, 1996
(age 18)
Retired April 2010 (age 32)
Olympics
Teams 1 - (2002)
Medals 0
World Championships
Teams 4 - (1997, '99, 2003, '05)
Medals 0
World Cup
Seasons 8 - (2000-06, '08)
Podiums 0
Overall titles 0
Discipline titles 0 - (20th in GS, 2005)

Dane Spencer (born December 24, 1977) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and current assistant coach with the U.S. Ski Team. At the World Cup level, he specialized in the giant slalom.

Career

Born in Boise, Idaho, Spencer grew up skiing and racing at Bogus Basin. He made the U.S. Ski Team at age 16, and debuted in World Cup competition at age 18 in a giant slalom in Park City. He attended the University of Colorado in Boulder and was a member of the 2002 U.S. Olympic team and finished 16th in the giant slalom, held in Park City. His best finish in international competition was 7th in the GS at the 2005 World Championships in Bormio, Italy.

Injury in 2006

Battling injuries during the 2006 season, he narrowly missed the Olympic team in 2006, and was back in North America in February to tune up for the remainder of the World Cup season in Europe with several events on the Nor-Am Cup circuit. After a pair of Super G races at Apex in British Columbia, he raced in two downhill events at The Big Mountain (now Whitefish Mountain Resort) near Whitefish, Montana. During the second race on February 14, 2006, Spencer crashed after the "Launch Pad" jump and incurred serious injuries.[1] He fractured his neck and pelvis, had massive internal bleeding, and spent nearly a week in an induced coma;[2][3] he recovered but spent most of 2006 recuperating.[4][5] The same Ursa Major race course had ended the comeback attempt of Bill Johnson five years earlier, after a violent crash at the "Corkscrew" section left the 1984 Olympic champion significantly impaired by a head injury in 2001.[1] Despite the severe injuries and near paralysis, Spencer progressed well during the summer of 2006 and was placed on the "A" team for the 2007 World Cup season, but did not race again until the following season.[6]

After racing

Following the injury, Spencer did not regain his previous form and struggled for results. He started only a handful of World Cup events and retired from racing following the 2010 season at age 32. Spencer became a coach with the U.S. Ski Team that summer and assisted with the Europa Cup and World Cup teams during the 2011 season.[7] He was named an assistant coach for the U.S. men's World Cup team for the 2012 season, under men's head coach Forest Carey.[8]

Top finishes

World Cup top twenty finishes

Season Date Location Discipline Place
2002 5 Jan 2002 Adelboden, Switzerland Giant Slalom 10th
2004 22 Nov 2003 Park City, USA Giant Slalom 13th
21 Dec 2003 Alta Badia, Italy Giant Slalom 11th
3 Jan 2004 Flachau, Austria Giant Slalom 18th
7 Feb 2004 Adelboden, Switzerland Giant Slalom 13th
2005 4 Dec 2004 Beaver Creek, USA Giant Slalom 11th
21 Dec 2004 Flachau, Austria Giant Slalom 12th
11 Jan 2005 Adelboden, Switzerland Giant Slalom 17th
20063 Dec 2005 Beaver Creek, USA Giant Slalom12th

2007 U.S. Ski Team - Men's "A" Team

References

  1. 1 2 Ski Racing.com - Dane Spencer stable with head, neck and pelvis injuries after NorAm crash - 2006-02-15
  2. ↑ New York Times - Broken Neck Can’t Keep Skier Off Slopes - 2007-01-02
  3. ↑ Denver Post.com Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. - Bad break, steel spirit: Dane Spencer battles back - 2007-11-25 - accessed 2012-01-27
  4. ↑ Denver Post.com Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. - Getting back in the race, skier awaits OK after injuries - 2006-07-23
  5. ↑ Dane Spencer's recovery - from U.S. Ski Team, 2006-08-03
  6. ↑ Idaho Mountain Express - Dane Spencer plays the comeback kid - 2008-11-28 - accessed 2012-02-21
  7. ↑ Ski Racing.com - Spencer joins alpine staff - 2010-07-28
  8. ↑ skiing.teamusa.org - U.S. Alpine announces coaching changes - 2011-05-31
  9. ↑ FIS-ski.com - 2005 World Championships - giant slalom - results - 2005-02-09
  10. ↑ FIS-ski.com - Adelboden, Switzerland - giant slalom - 2002-01-05
  11. ↑ FIS-ski.com - 2002 Winter Olympics - giant slalom - results - 2002-02-21
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