Here’s a look at David Wise, one of the four Lake Tahoe medal winners at the Sochi Olympics.:
He was nicknamed “The UnDude” by the New York Times, which
kind of sums it up. He’s a married man with a cute 2-year-old young daughter and admits that family comes first, while skiing is a distant second.
There weren’t many young Olympic skiers or snowboarders who shared
that philosophy. Yet it worked for Wise, who wore the
“favorite” tag when he dropped into the Sochi halfpipe last week.
Wise’s wife, Alexandra, brought a blown-up photo of their daughter – a
frequent companion at his competitions – and stuck it on a flat stick
at the bottom of the halfpipe location.
Following Wise’s qualifying round in freestyle halfpipe, he grabbed the prop and planted a
big kiss on Nayeli’s left cheek.
Wise, 23, who lives in Reno and trains at Northstar California ski resort
in Lake Tahoe, won on a day when the snow and the conditions certainly
weren’t ideal.
The only regret for Wise: He wasn’t able to deliver his “A Game.”
“This was Run C. Or Run C combined partly with Run B,” Wise said. “I
was changing my run from moment to moment during practices just
because the conditions were always changing. Sometimes it was fast,
sometimes it was slow. Being adaptable was a huge advantage for me
tonight.”
American skier Aaron Blunck finished 7th overall and has no doubt who is the world’s top halfpipe skier right now.
“Dave (Wise) is right now on top of the sport. He’s the best. He’s
proven it multiple times,” Blunck said. “He comes out in any condition
and has amazing fun. He’s the dad out of the (U.S.) group. So no
matter what he does, we’re proud of him.”
