Shannon Dunn-Downing (born November 26, 1972) is an American

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

and Olympic medalist. She received a bronze medal in the

halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, Inline skating, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially t ...

event at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in snowboarding."1998 Winter Olympics – Nagano, Japan – Alpine Skiing"
– ''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on March 13, 2008) She finished 5th at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. She won a gold medal at the first

Winter X Games Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...

in California 1997, and again in 2001.

History

Shannon started snowboarding in 1988 in Steamboat Springs, CO where she grew up, and began competing in the early 1990s. Shannon was the first woman to land several difficult halfpipe tricks in competition, including a frontsitde 540 in 1991, backside 540 in 1994,

McTwist Aerials (or more commonly airs) are a type of skateboarding Skateboarding trick, trick usually performed on half-pipes, pools or quarter pipes where there is a vertical wall with a transition (curved surface linking wall and ground) available. A ...

in 1994, frontside 720 in 1995, and frontside rodeo 720 in 2001. She is also noted for working behind the scenes on the development women's products for companies such as

Burton Snowboards Burton Snowboards is a privately-owned snowboard manufacturing company that was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977. The company specializes in products aimed at snowboarders, such as snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, and accessorie ...

and Velvet Goggles, and on events such as the all-girl photo shoot, the P!Jamma Party. In the mid-2000s, Shannon retired from professional snowboarding to focus on raising her family.

Results

* 1st Place '02 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mammoth Mountain, CA (Dec.16) * 1st Place '02 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mammoth Mountain, CA (Dec.13) * 5th Place '02 Olympic Winter Games Halfpipe, Park City, UT * 1st Place '01 Winter X Games Halfpipe, Mount Snow, VT * 2nd Place '01 Winter X Games Slopestyle, Mount Snow, VT * 2nd Place '01 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT * 1st Place '00 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Northstart at Tahoe, CA * 1st Place '00 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Breckenridge Mountain Resort, CO * 1st Place '00 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mammoth Mountain, CA * 2nd Place '00 Nippon Open Halfpipe, Hakuba, Japan * 2nd Place '00 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT * 1st Place '99 FIS World Cup Halfpipe, Mount Bachelor, OR * 2nd Place '99 Winter X Games Halfpipe, Crested Butte, CO * 1st Place '99 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mount Bachelor, OR * 1st Place '99 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Copper Mountain, CO * 1st Place '99 Nippon Open Halfpipe, Hokkaido, Japan * 3rd Place '99 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT * 1st Place '99 USSA Super Prix Halfpipe and Overall, Okemo Mountain, VT * Bronze Medalist '98 Olympic Winter Games, Halfpipe, Yamanouchi Mountain, Nagano, Japan * 1st Place '97 Winter X Games Halfpipe, Crested Butte, CO * 1st Place '94 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT * 1st Place '93 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT * 2-time ISF World Halfpipe Champion

References

External links

Interview with Shred Betties – June 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn-Downing, Shannon 1972 births Living people American female snowboarders Snowboarders at the 1998 Winter Olympics Snowboarders at the 2002 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in snowboarding Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Colorado People from Steamboat Springs, Colorado 21st-century American women