David Wise’s Accomplishments Include…
David Wise has been on the top of the halfpipe podium since early 2011, with a trophy case that includes the inaugural Olympic gold medal in men’s ski halfpipe.
Wise, a family-oriented man from Reno, NV, had a consistent road to Sochi, winning two of the five Olympic qualifying events and clinching his team nomination through objective criteria. with his ticket to Sochi in hand, Wise made a quick stop in Aspen, CO before heading to Russia and bagged his third-straight X Games gold medal, the only athlete to accomplish the feat since Tanner Hall’s three-peat from 2006-2008.
In Sochi, unfavorable weather conditions in the Olympic halfpipe venue provided a challenge to competitors, but Wise remained focused and professional and threw down a smooth and technical run that proved unbeatable. Heading into the Olympics, Wise considered it a huge achievement just to represent his country at his sport’s debut. With the gold medal in hand and his wife and daughter cheering him on at the bottom, Wise truly achieved freeskiing greatness in 2014.
Wise began competing in halfpipe at a young age, winning his first U.S. national title at 15 and then turning professional at 18. Wise has all the tools to compete on the highest level: style, technicality and amplitude. So it should come as no surprise that Wise kicked off a dominant streak in 2012, winning the Winter X Games, the Dew Tour Finals and The Grand Prix finals consecutively. The 2013 season was another standout year for Wise with gold at the Aspen X Games, gold at the FIS World Championships, silver at X Games Tignes and winning a sixth U.S. national title. He then topped it off with an AFP halfpipe title. He won the Winter Dew Tour that kicked off the 2016 season but then took a hard fall at the Mammoth Grand Prix that resulted in a separated left shoulder.
Wise started skiing at age three at Sky Tavern on the outskirts of Reno. From there he quickly moved on to ski racing at Mt. Rose. After getting into trouble repeatedly for skiing the terrain park during racing practice, breaking expensive race skis on jumps and constantly nagging his parents, they finally let Wise try freeskiing.
Growing up around Lake Tahoe for Wise had its advantages. Cliff jumping, bouncing on the trampoline and mountain biking in the summer, plus world-class skiing in the winter, has helped Wise develop into one of the top halfpipe skiers in the nation. He also balances his time in order to be with his young family, and often his wife Alexandra, daughter Nayeli and son Malachi are present to cheer him on at competitions. He loves to spend his evenings reading and hanging out with his family. Together they run the youth group at their church.
In the summer he plays volleyball on the beaches of Tahoe. He and his friends have a “men’s league” slow-pitch softball team that helps Wise get his competitive sports fix.