Nicole Stone (born February 4, 1971) is a former American Olympic

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

. She was born in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, currently residing in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...

. Nikki Stone, who competed in 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 ...

in Nagano, Japan, is best known for being the first American to win a gold medal as inverted aerial skier. Aerial Skiing is a sport where athletes ski into a snow jump at approximately , flip and/or twist to a height of and land on a 45 degree hill. Eighteen months before this second Olympic appearance, Stone sustained a career-threatening spinal injury in which doctors believed she would never jump again.

Career highlights

In her career Stone has won 35 World Cup medals, 11 World Cup titles, four national titles, two year-long Aerial World Cup titles, and a World Championship title. She also became the first pure aerialist ever (male or female) to become the year-long Overall Freestyle World Cup Champion. At the

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

, she carried the

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...

off the plane, along with Bill Spencer, that had brought it to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. She was inducted into the

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

in 2003.

Television appearances

Late Night with David Letterman, the

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

, Good Morning America,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Early Addition,

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Morning Line,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

Magazine show, Fox News Channel Sports Express, CNN Business As Unusual, Fox Sports News live, the Late Late Show with

Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...

, and a televised commercial for Chevrolet and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee.

Authored

Stone released the book, "When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out" in January 2010. It intertwines her success story around inspirational stories from contributors like Shaun White, Tommy Hilfiger, Lindsey Vonn, Dr. Stephen Covey, and Prince Albert. Stone and the book were highlighted on the Today Show shortly after its release. Stone has written articles for

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Sports, the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

, local newspapers, and skiing magazines. She is a contributing author to the book "Awaken the Olympian Within: Stories from America's Greatest Olympic Motivators".

Personal life

Stone has an undergraduate degree from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in New York, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She has a master's degree in sports psychology from the University of Utah, graduating summa cum laude. In 2008, she gave birth to a daughter named Zali. In 2011, she gave birth to a son named Zealand.

Current career

Stone currently works as a motivational speaker, author, coach for the new Regional Biggest Loser program (in Wichita, Kansas). She has also worked as a Visiting Professor at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

and a sports psychology consultant for several elite and Olympic athletes. Stone was hired by the United States Olympic Committee to work with the Winter Olympians in overcoming adversities and distractions, dealing with intense pressure, and developing confidence to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Medals

An overview of medals won by Stone at important championships, listing the years in which she won each:

References

External links

Nikki Stone homepage

Nikki Stone's Book ''When Turtles Fly'' Website

United States National Ski Hall of Fame

Olympian Nikki Stone and Her Pretty Princess

Podium Enterprises :: Nikki Stone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Nikki 1971 births Living people People from Princeton, New Jersey American female freestyle skiers Union College (New York) alumni Freestyle skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Mercer County, New Jersey University of Utah alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in freestyle skiing 21st-century American women