Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosTommy Ford holds a pair of his race skis at Mount Bachelor earlier this month before leaving for training in Park City, Utah. Ford, of Bend, will compete with alpine skiing's biggest names Tuesday at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
Young, but no novice
Bend skier, just 20 years old, is set to race in Tuesday's giant slalom
By Mark Morical / The Bulletin
Last modified: February 22. 2010 10:38AM PSTTommy Ford frowned when asked if he considers Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety his mentor.
“Mentor?” Ford said. “Uh, I wouldn't say that. I don't think he's used to getting beat in training, or getting close to beat.”
But that's exactly what Ford did on numerous occasions during World Cup training before this season. And mentors do not typically get shown up by their apprentices.
Now Ford, a 20-year-old skier from Bend, is preparing to compete against Ligety — not to mention another marquee name in alpine skiing: Bode Miller — in the giant slalom Tuesday at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Ligety, who also is scheduled to compete in the men's super combined today along with Miller, won gold at the 2006 Winter Games in the super combined and is one of the favorites to medal in the giant slalom.
“Training with Ted really helped my skiing,” Ford said during an interview earlier this month at his family's home in Bend. “We push each other. He wins World Cups, so you know you're learning from that speed. So to be right in there training is exciting.”
Ford also trained some earlier this season with Miller, who has already won two medals at these Olympics and is generally regarded as the most accomplished American alpine skier ever.
Although Ford probably will not medal in Vancouver — he was somewhat of a long shot just to make his first U.S. Olympic team — he could soon be filling the boots of Ligety or Miller.
“I've always thought (Ford) was a pretty phenomenal skier,” fellow U.S. team member Andrew Weibrecht was quoted saying last week in an Associated Press story. “He's going to be one of our top guys within the next couple years. Although he was considered a long shot (to make the Olympic team), I'm not surprised that he was able to get in there and score World Cup points this year and earn a spot on the team.”
Ford has come a long way from performing ski tucks in front of the television as a little boy, trying to impersonate Austrian alpine great Hermann Maier.
“They were all lined up in a line, doing a tuck,” said Ford's mother, Mary Ellen Ford. “It was so funny to watch them imitating Hermann's run.”
Ford, a graduate of Summit High School, grew up racing with the hometown Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation after his father, Mark Ford, introduced him to the slopes of Bachelor when Tommy was just 2 years old.
Both of Ford's parents are former ski racers and coaches. Mary Ellen coached for MBSEF when Tommy was growing up, and Mark raced for the U.S. Ski Team in the late 1960s and early '70s.
“(U.S. coaches) all agree that I have a great touch for the snow, and a special talent,” Tommy Ford said. “Two skiers for parents helps a little bit. They were always great motivation, and always there to help me go faster and support me with the sport.”
By age 6, Tommy was racing with his older brother Tyson.
In 2006, at age 16, Tommy earned four gold medals at the Junior Olympics. Soon thereafter, he was selected for the U.S. Alpine Development Team.
“He's proven himself, and I think he's ready,” his mother said. “I watch him on the World Cup, and he's growing every time he's in it. I think (Ligety's) World Cup success has something to do with (Tommy) pushing him. (Ligety) hasn't really had that in the past.”
Last season, Ford finished second in the slalom at the Alpine Junior World Championships and second in the giant slalom at the U.S. Alpine Championships.
He trained with the World Cup team over the summer in Chile and New Zealand, then made his debut in the giant slalom at Soelden, Austria, in October.
“I like to travel a lot,” Ford said. “When we're in Europe, we're moving every three days ... packing a bag. You've got to make yourself at home within an hour, and then you've got to get ready to go.”
Training with the biggest names in alpine skiing and competing throughout Europe on the World Cup tour, Ford has witnessed the skiing scene around the globe. He has observed the high regard in which skiers are held in Europe, how an Olympic gold medalist like Ligety is a star overseas yet is largely unknown in his home country.
“Wherever you go (in Europe), someone will know him,” Ford said of Ligety. “And then we get off the plane in Atlanta, and nobody knows who he is.
“It's a tough sport to appreciate if you haven't skied. And there's a lot of people who haven't skied in the U.S. — and we make it look pretty easy.”
Ford has been away from home frequently in the last few years, but reminders of him are not hard to find in the west Bend home where he lives with his parents when he's not traveling. A laundry closet is jampacked with nearly 40 pairs of yellow Fischer skis, different models for different skiing disciplines.
Even when not training or ski racing in the spring, Ford is far from Central Oregon. He has attended two terms at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and plans to take classes each spring while working toward his degree.
But ski racing, no doubt, takes precedence for now.
Ford earned his first World Cup points in December with a 24th-place finish in Alta Badia, Italy. Those points, he said, were likely what vaulted him onto the Olympic team.
Most skiers on the 12-man team are in their mid- to late-20s. Ligety is 25, and Miller is the oldest at 32. Ford is the second-youngest on the squad, born seven days before teammate Nolan Kasper.
“Just watching (Ford) ski, I was like, ‘Wow, this kid is good,'” U.S. Olympic skier Steven Nyman was quoted by the AP. “And he really hasn't skied to his potential in the World Cup, and when he does, I wouldn't be surprised if he's on a podium because he is such a fast, strong, solid skier.”
Ford said he is not really setting any goals for Tuesday at Whistler Creekside, still calling it “just another race.”
“I'd love to get a top 20, top 30, top 10 ... it depends on how I'm skiing, it could be anything,” he said. “If I ski as fast as I can, I'm sure I can get a top 10.”
Ford said the key to success in big races is finding a balance between relaxation and aggression.
“I just relax and try to focus on a few key things ... just relax and ski,” Ford said. “And also try to get yourself psyched up enough to bring energy to the course.”
At his last World Cup, in Slovenia in late January, Ford finished 21st in the giant slalom, his best World Cup result yet.
Ford traveled to Vancouver for the Olympics' opening ceremonies, but he stayed only a couple of days before returning to Park City, Utah, for training and FIS races to prepare for Tuesday.
“That was cool,” Ford, reached by phone Thursday in Utah, said of the opening ceremonies at BC Place. “It was amazing. It was amazing to be a part of all of it.”
He was scheduled to arrive in Whistler on Saturday, and said he expects about a dozen family members and friends to be at Whistler Creekside cheering for him Tuesday.
Ford is not looking to prove himself, but to perhaps take the first step in what could be a long Olympic career.
“I think I've proven myself to be on the (Olympic) team already,” Ford said. “My motivation is to keep up my speed and keep going fast. I think I can do well in the Olympics and on the World Cup circuit next year.
“It's hard to believe I'm here now. I always wanted to be here, it's just hard to imagine actually being here. It's exciting to be able to compete this young and still have plenty of time ahead of me.”
Mark Morical can be reached at 541-383-0318 or at mmorical@bendbulletin.com.
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