Marco Sullivan (born April 27, 1980) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. Born in Truckee, California, he competed primarily in the speed events of Downhill and Super G.
Sullivan competed in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics, and four World Championships. He won one World Cup race, a downhill in Chamonix, France, in January 2008.
World Cup Sullivan made his World Cup debut in December 2001, and took one victory, the renowned downhill in Chamonix, France, on January 26, 2008. He won the race in 2:00.11, ahead of Swiss star Didier Cuche.
In early December 2003, Sullivan injured his knee in a downhill training run at Beaver Creek. It happened at the last jump of the Birds of Prey course and caused him to miss the rest of the 2004 season. While training in France in October 2004, Sullivan injured the same knee again and was out for the 2005 season as well.Ski Racing.com – Healthy Marco Sullivan takes giant step forward, finishing downhill training run – 2005-11-23 – accessed 2012-02-06 – Sullivan reinjures knee, season over – 2004-10-29 – accessed 2012-02-06
Sullivan attained his first World Cup podium on November 24, 2007, when he finished second at the season's first downhill at Lake Louise, a good-for-gliders course in the Canadian Rockies. His victory at Chamonix came two months later, and he went on to finish fourth in the World Cup downhill standings, the best seasonal result of his career.
In late December 2010, Sullivan crashed during a training run on the Stelvio course at Bormio, Italy (video). He sustained a concussion which ended his 2011 season, including the World Championships. After two months, he was cleared by doctors to get back on skis in early March. – Marco Sullivan ready to run downhill – 2011-11-30 – accessed 2012-02-06
Season standings Season Age Overall Slalom GiantSlalom Super G Downhill Combined 2002 21 144 — — — 55 — 2003 22 55 — — 26 20 — 2004 23 2005 24 2006 25 86 — — 39 31 — 2007 26 52 — — — 24 42 2008 27 26 — — 30 4 — 2009 28 30 — — 13 15 — 2010 29 65 — — 25 29 — 2011 30 167 — — 59 — — 2012 31 93 — — 45 37 — 2013 32 55 — — — 14 — 2014 33 72 — — — 28 — 2015 34 47 — — 53 19 — 2016 35 104 — — — 37 —
Top ten finishes 1 win – (1 DH) 4 podiums – (4 DH) Season Date Location Discipline Place 2003 7 Dec 2002 Beaver Creek, USA Downhill 6th 2007 1 Dec 2006 Beaver Creek, USA Downhill 10th16 Dec 2006 Val Gardena, Italy Downhill 4th 2008 24 Nov 2007 Lake Louise, Canada Downhill 2nd13 Jan 2008 Wengen, Switzerland Downhill 7th18 Jan 2008Kitzbühel, Austria Super-G 10th19 Jan 2008Downhill 6th26 Jan 2008 Chamonix, France Downhill 1st 2009 30 Nov 2008 Lake Louise, Canada Super G 5th19 Dec 2008Val Gardena, Italy Super G 5th20 Dec 2008Super G 4th17 Jan 2009 Wengen, Switzerland Downhill 3rd 2013 24 Nov 2012 Lake Louise, Canada Downhill 3rd
World Championship results Year Age Slalom Giant Slalom Super G Downhill Combined 2003 22 — — 17 24 — 2005 24 2007 26 — — — 28 — 2009 28 — — DNF 25 — 2011 30 2013 32 — — — DNF —
Sullivan took a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in 2000 in the slalom. He first raced in the World Championships in 2003 and finished 17th in the Super-G and 24th in the Downhill. He missed the 2005 and 2011 events due to injury.
Olympic results Year Age Slalom Giant Slalom Super G Downhill Combined 2002 21 — — DNF 9 — 2006 25 — — — DNS — 2010 29 — — 23 DSQ — 2014 33 — — — 30 — In his Olympic debut in the downhill in 2002, Sullivan finished a surprising ninth on the Grizzly course at Snowbasin, Utah. He was the 31st racer out of the starting gate and was the sole North American among the top fifteen finishers.
U.S. Ski Championships Sullivan was the Downhill champion at the U.S. Alpine Championships in 2007 in the Alyeska Resort in Alaska; he finished more than a full second ahead of runner-up Erik Fisher. He won three national titles in total, having previously won the super-G at Squaw Valley in 2002 and going on to win another downhill championship at Alyeska in 2009.
Arctic Man Sullivan and his partner Tyler Akelstad are five-time champions in the extreme ski/snowmachine race in Alaska - Arctic Man. Sullivan and Akelstad hold the record for the men's ski division, having completed the race with a time of 03:52.72. This was the first time that the four minute threshold was broken.
Movies The People vs. Brad Holmes, 2007. Appeared in Children of Winter with fellow Olympian Seth Wescott skiing in Cordova, Alaska, at Points North Heli in 2009. Appeared in the Kings and Corn segment of Warren Miller's Flow State in 2012 alongside fellow Olympians Daron Rahlves and Tommy Moe.
SKI Magazine column During the 2012 season, Sullivan has written columns for SKI mag.com, giving insight to life on the World Cup circuit, which includes spending Christmas in Bormio. – Marco Sullivan: World Cup season starts with a bang – December 2011 – Marco Sullivan: Christmas in Bormio – December 2011
References
External links
Marco Sullivan World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
U.S. Ski Team.com – profile – Marco Sullivan