Olympic Gold Medalist ski racer and Slytech Rider Ted Ligety busted his knee at the end of this past season at Nationals in Alaska. So, rather than do all the fun stuff that athletes love to do in the summer time (tennis, lift weights, surf, etc... just check out what Slytech Wearer Julia Mancuso loves to do in the summer http://JuliaMancuso.com), he's at the gym rehabbing his partially torn knee ligaments...

Looking at this YouTube video, I realize -- besides the fact that the audio is out of synch with the video (thanks Salt Lake Tribune!) -- that he's the only guy at that gym (the new US Ski Team Center of Excellence in Park City Utah). Poor dude, just rehabbing all by his lonesome while everybody else is outside playing! That sucks.

I guess, the good news is that Ted's back protector saved his back and the injury was not more severe than it could have been.

Patrick Deneen, Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships, Moguls, Deer Valley, Photo: Jen Desmond/U.S. Ski Team

I just got this new release from the US Ski Team... check out what a next a World Champion Freestyle Mogul skier and 2010 Olympic hopeful has to tell...

One year after being named the FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year, Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) took the freestyle moguls world by storm when he won gold at the 2009 World Freestyle Championships in moguls. Now with a landmark season wrapped up, Deneen reflects on what his win meant to him and how he's shifted his focus to the 2010 year.

You're back at home in Washington now. How are things there and what have you been up to?
I'm just hanging out at home, which is nice because I just got back from spending the last month in Colorado where I was training and coaching some kids. So, it's good to be back in Washington and be home with the dogs and the horses.

Will you be spending your whole summer in Washington or are you ramping up your training schedule elsewhere?
I am planning on spending a lot of my summer in Washington. It's great because I am so close to Mt. Hood and with this time of year also being the time I do physical training, for me, this is the best type of training environment - in Washington and with my family on the ranch.

You might be a World Champion now, but when you head back to the ranch does a long list of chores wait for you?
I'm gone so often that my mom pretty much has it covered. But, when I am here I do normal chores like mowing the lawn and feeding horses. Luckily this time of year the grass is getting long, so I don't have to do a whole lot of feeding.

When you won your gold at Worlds, things were a whirlwind for you. Now that the dust has had a chance to settle, how do you reflect on what you accomplished?
The World Championship medal really means a lot to me. When you're skiing at the biggest event, and for me having everything come together at the right moment, it's a real special time. What have you done with your gold medal? Right now I keep it in a cupboard in my living room. If I'm sitting down watching television I'll have a quick look at it. My mom plans on framing it with my bib.

With such a great season behind you, how do you plan out your training this summer as you look ahead for future success?
I really focus on my skiing, the task at hand and small goals that I can do. If I just keep moving down that path my skiing will work and the results will come.

Do you have any additional thoughts as you look ahead to the 2010 season?
I'm really excited for next season. All of us just really love to compete. It's such a short ski season and we don't get that many competitions to ski in, so I'm looking forward to getting in there and starting to compete again. I know it's only June, but it seems like it's coming up so fast.

Patrick Deneen watches the scoreboard in World Cup moguls at Olympic test event at Cypress Mountain, BC. (U.S. Ski Team - Tom Kelly)

Will Brandenburg Mugshot
(photo by Jonathan Selkowitz)

In 2007 season, Will Brandenburg was awarded U.S. Junior Alpine Skier of the Year award.  He finished fifth in downhill in the World Junior Championships, with the best time out of all the US participants, and in the U.S. Alpine National Championships he went on to beat all juniors in the downhill and super G events.  Based on the legacies of former recipients (who collectively clenched over 100 national titles, 20 World Championship medals, 10 Olympic medals, among other accomplishments), the future looked bright for the 20-year-old up-and-comer from Spokane, Washington.

But in the 2008 season, Brandenburg began to experience knee pain that by the end of the season had him dropping out of ski runs, relegated to watching his friends compete from the sidelines.

The knee injury has this Sean Connery fan shaken, but not stirred.  In his blog he expresses his frustration but ultimately notes, "Yesterday I was in the training center getting my knee worked on and working hard to get the muscles around my knee to start working again. I was kind of down a little bit. There were Nor Am slaloms going on, and I sat there and all I wanted to do was race them. But fantasizing about racing wasn’t going to get my leg working again. So I opened my eyes and looked ahead."

Keeping a forward-looking perspective is a theme that propigates throughout his blog.  As he points out, the past is the past, and the worst mistake is to let what has happened poison "the now”.  Though mentioned explicitly in reference to skiing, one gets the feeling that he applies this same positive worldview to his life in general.

Perhaps part of what makes Brandenburg so successful at dealing with adversity is practice.  As a youngster, he was diagnosed with the reading disability dyslexia.  Through a combination of help from educators and using sports to help diffuse his frustration, he worked his way through his problem.  If his blog is any indication, he is now a proficient and thoughtful writer.  It would not be surprising if he continues to overcome obstacles.

To help overcome the obstacles on the slopes, Brandenburg uses Slytech shin and arm guards.