Before he was even a teenager, Utah's Joe Pack traded ski jumping for the higher-flying thrill of aerials. The trade proved fruitful for the 2002 Olympian who captured the silver medal in front of his adoring family, friends and fans in his hometown. His medal collection also includes gold at the '96 Junior Worlds, gold at the '99 and '01 U.S. Freestyle Championships and bronze at the '99 and '01 World Championships.
Update
Coming off a season of nagging injuries, Pack stayed healthy last winter and produced his best jumping in three years. He started with a pair of fifth-place finishes in Australia, following those with a podium at Mont Tremblant, outside Montreal - where U.S. men went 1-2-3as Ryan St. Onge bagged his first win. Pack also was second on his home hill at Deer Valley. His one-word mantra for '06: Win!
Start-Up
A nordic ski jumper in New Hampshire, Pack turned to aerials at 12 and tried his first back flip a year later. Lake Placid's Olympic 90-meter hill was the largest hill he ever jumped before the family moved to Park City in the early Nineties. In ski jumping, he was 12-15 feet over the ground; in aerials, he's up to 60 feet off the deck. He won aerials gold at the 1996 Junior World Championships and, a few months later, midway through the '97 season, won his first World Cup contest. He missed a shot at the '98 Olympics when he tore his left ACL in the final preseason training.
First World Cup
March 4, 1995, in Lillehammer, Norway (15th)
Olympics/Worlds Experience
2005 - 14th in Ruka, Finland. 2003 Worlds—15th. 2002 Olympics—Silver medallist. 2001 Worlds—Bronze medallist. 1999 Worlds—Bronze medallist. 1997 Worlds—7th.
Injuries
A week or so before heading to Europe to open the '98 Olympic season, Pack tore his left ACL in training, postponing his Olympic dream. He dinged it at Worlds in 2003 and after finishing the season, had surgery to clean the joint. Had follow-up surgery during the 2004 season to clean up scar tissue.
Personal
Pack, an Eagle Scout as a teen, is generally considered the hands-down leader as top golfer on the Ski Team...His coaches at Park City High School said Pack's hands weren't big enough to be quarterback so they switched him to wide receiver (and wide receiver's hands should be small?)... Soundbite: "Golf's so much like aerials. You have to pay attention to the details"...As one of the Ski Team's top golfers, it probably doesn't surprise many that this pizza-lover's favorite movie is "Caddy Shack"...
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Joe Pack
Born: Apr. 10, 1978, Eugene, OR
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Resides in Park City, UT
Highlights:
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Two more World Cup podiums in '05 |
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Three World Cup wins, eight other top-3s |
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Aerials silver at 2002 Olympics |
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Aerials bronze at '99, '01 Worlds |
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'99, '01 U.S. aerials champion |
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'96 Junior Worlds champion |
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