Champion Q & A with Casey Puckett
The USSA Meets up with the podium finisher to ask him a few questions about students, skier cross, and more.
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In his alpine racing days, Casey Puckett (Aspen, CO) was a four-time Olympian and six-time U.S. champion. Now, however, the competition is as intense as ever for Puckett who made the switch to ski cross and has never looked back. Read on to see what Puckett loves best about the sport as well as the younger athlete who thinks she can beat him down the course.
What are you looking forward to most about the ski cross season?
It’s a packed season. The thing I look forward to most every year is the X Games. We have a full World Cup season ahead of us and I am looking forward to that.
You get to come home pretty soon for the X Games, does that excite you?
It’s always better to compete on home turf. I’m excited to get back to Aspen and try and bring the gold home.
You have two little daughters. Do they ever get to see you race in person?
No, most of what they have seen of me is on TV. But they do get out to see the X Games each year.
What do they think about your career?
They don’t think too much about it. It’s just what daddy does. Actually I was talking to Riley last week and she informed me that she’s faster than I am and that she can beat me down the hill – and she’s 5.
Wow, that’s impressive.
I have a lot of fun skiing with Riley and we actually just got Annalisa my 3 year old, out on the hill for the first time. I love doing that. It’s fun to watch their excitement when they’re flying down the snow.
What else do you do in your downtime away from competition?
It seems now that I am 36 that most of my downtime is spent recovering from injuries.
Any hobbies you have that would surprise us?
I like to golf in the summer and ride motocross. I also like to cook and dance, and I love just living a healthy lifestyle.
To finish, what is your favorite thing about competing in ski cross?
To start off, just the heat of the battle and the competition with the other guys on the course. I’ve always loved being the air and hitting jumps and I think it’s the combination of the air time and the speed and the competition that I love.
