August "Gus" Schumacher (born July 25, 2000) is an American

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. In 2020, Schumacher became the first American to win a gold medal in an individual race at the Junior World Ski Championships. He competed in the 30 kilometre skiathlon at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

. Schumacher won the Men's 10 km freestyle race at the 2024 Stifel Loppet Cup in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

on February 18, 2024. His win marked the first time an American male skier had won an individual distance event since Bill Koch in 1983.

Early life

Schumacher was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

and grew up in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. He learned to ski as soon as he could walk, using strap-on skis in his backyard. By the time he reached middle school, Schumacher had begun to show an interest in competitive racing. After moving through the ranks with the Anchorage Junior Nordic League, he joined the Alaska Winter Stars program. He graduated from

Service High School Robert Service High School is a public high school in Anchorage, Alaska. It had an enrollment of 1,779 students as of August 2, 2016. Serving grades 9 through 12, the school was named for the poet Robert W. Service. Part of the Anchorage School D ...

in 2018 and is currently enrolled as a part-time student at the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Prin ...

in pursuit of a Civil Engineering degree.

Athletic career

High school and juniors

As a high school student, Schumacher trained with the Alaska Winter Stars. He swept both individual races at the Alaska state high school championships to claim the title of Skimeister, awarded to the skier with the best combined times, in both 2017 and 2018. From 2015 to 2019, Schumacher competed at the Cross Country Junior National Championships with the Alaskan divisional team.

World Cup

As a 23-year old, Schumacker won the men's 10 kilometer final at the 2024 Stifel Loppet Cup in

. He became the youngest American to win a World Cup cross-country skiing race, the first American man to win any World Cup race since

Simi Hamilton Simeon "Simi" Hamilton (born May 14, 1987) is an American, former cross-country skier, who competed between 2000 and 2021.. Hamilton attended Middlebury College from 2005 to 2009, during which time he competed for its ski team, individually earn ...

in 2013, and the first American man to win a distance race since Bill Koch in 1983. While on break from the World Cup ski tour, Schumacher competed in the

American Birkebeiner The American Birkebeiner (or Birkie) is the largest cross-country skiing race in North America, and one of the longest. It debuted in 1973 and was a founding member of the Worldloppet federation of cross-country ski marathons. The two premier eve ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and won the men's 50km freestyle race on February 24, 2024.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

Distance reduced to 30 km due to weather conditions.

World Championships

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

* 1 victory – (1 ) * 1 podium – (1 )

Political activity

On March 20, 2024, Schumacher testified at a

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

hearing of the Committee on the Budget on the topic of "Recreation at Risk: The Nature of Climate Costs." In 2022 he lobbied Congress as a member of Protect Our Winters' Athlete Alliance.

References

External links

*
Gus Schumacher
at U.S. Ski and Snowboard 2000 births Living people American male cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers for the United States Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Tour de Ski skiers {{US-crosscountry-skiing-bio-stub