Will Brandenburg

Will Brandenburg (born January 1, 1987) is a World Cup alpine ski racer on the U.S. Ski Team and specializes in slalom. Born in Walla Walla, Washington, he began skiing at 11 months of age^[1] and started racing at seven at Ski Bluewood near Dayton, Washington. He moved with his family to Spokane as a youth, then raced with the Spokane Ski Racing Association at Mt. Spokane,^[1][2] and later at Schweitzer Mountain near Sandpoint, Idaho. A 2005 graduate of Mead High School in Spokane,^[3] he also played high school football for the Panthers, with a brief stint at quarterback.^[4]

Brandenburg was named to the U.S. development team in May 2006.^[2] At the 2007 U.S. Alpine Championships in April, he placed second in the giant slalom at Alyeska, won by Ted Ligety.^[5][6] The day before, Brandenburg was named U.S. junior alpine ski racer of the year by Ski Racing magazine.^[7]

He was named to the U.S. team for the 2010 Winter Olympics,^[8] and finished tenth in the super combined event, won by Bode Miller. Brandenburg had the second best time in the slalom run, behind Ligety.^[9] He was also a member of the U.S. team for the 2011 World Championships racing in the slalom.

Brandenburg's best World Cup finish is sixth place in a slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia in March 2012.^[10][11] He won the combined event at the 2013 U.S. Alpine Championships at Squaw Valley in Olympic Valley, California.^[12]