Although he has achieved different levels of success in all five Alpine events, Ted Ligety has found his surest niche in the giant slalom. The season-long World Cup giant slalom title in 2008 earned him a small crystal globe. His five race victories on the World Cup circuit have each come in giant slalom. He won the U.S. men's only medal - a bronze - at the 2009 World Championships in the "GS." Even after a summer almost free of skiing, due to the rehabilitation of damaged medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee (suffered in a downhill training crash at U.S. Nationals in March), Ligety took second place in his first race back, the Soelden giant slalom.

Ligety was born and raised in winter sports mecca Park City, Utah. His parents, Bill and Cyndi, got him started on skis by age two and racing by 11. His career began to take off in his mid-teens. When the Alpine competition of the 2002 Salt Lake Games came to town, the 17-year-old Ligety got to volunteer as a forerunner for the men's slalom event, making sure that the course was safe before the racers went down. That first experience of skiing in front of thousands of people left a huge impression on him, as he got to feel like he was in the Olympics. He also attended the Opening Ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City and a hockey game.

Some skiers develop slowly. Others rocket to the top. Ligety did the latter. In a 24-month span from February 2004 to February 2006, he won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships, reached his first World Cup podium, made the cover of Sports Illustrated's Olympic preview (with veterans Bode Miller, Erik Schlopy and Daron Rahlves), and won an Olympic gold medal. Not a bad trajectory for someone who skied his inaugural World Cup season with "MOM AND DAD" written across his helmet, where most of his rivals had the name of a generous sponsor. In 2005-06, Ligety reduced the financial burden on his parents by signing a deal with Park City Mountain Resort to sponsor his headgear. His Olympic gold medal, won in the combined event after two spectacular slalom runs, is securely stored in a safety deposit box in his parents' home.

Notorious for hitting jumps and skiing powder with fervor, the blond-haired Ligety got the nickname "Ted Shred" from a Park City Ski Team coach when he was about 10 years old. It was only natural that the name would carry over in some way later in life. After the 2006 Torino Games, Ligety and his business partner, an Italian named Carlo Salmini, formed Shred, a ski apparel company that designs goggles, sunglasses and helmets. What started off narrowly with an argyle design with neon colors has expanded to half a dozen different designs and even more bright colors. More importantly, his clientele is expanding. U.S. women's team member Resi Stiegler donned Ligety's gear at the 2009 World Championships and is collaborating with him on a new line, called Le Tigre.

While in New Zealand for a month-long, summer training camp in 2008, Ligety and three U.S. teammates pitched in about $700 and bought a 1989 Holden Camera and decided to have some off-snow fun. First, they painted the Stars and Stripes on the hood, then drove, rally-style, around some gravel flats. The car kept getting flat tires, so they built a dirt jump to launch themselves, one at a time, six feet up in the air, at speeds up to 55 mph. "It was like a mini car accident every time you landed. I mean, we had took [sic] about fifteen jumps and the car was totally done. We broke the front axle. The whole front of the car was smashed in, and the steering wheel was bent forward because our hands would go jamming into it. The entire time, it was leaking fluid." Eventually, the car died, bringing the fun to an end. "It was a little bit of a disappointment when the car died. At the same time, we knew we took it to the limit." Spoken like a true Alpine skier.