River Radamus: Gratitude, Paint, and the Push for Cortina 2026
River Radamus wakes up on race day and thinks “thank you” before he thinks about snow. The 26-year-old from Vail, Colorado, told the Alpine Pulse podcast the habit started when skiing was “just what we did after school,” not a job with a start list and a clock.
Vail Roots Shaped Radamus’ Creative Skiing
Radamus grew up on Vail Mountain’s backside, lapping runs before first bell, during lunch, and under floodlights after homework. His ski-patrol parents let him follow older kids through the trees; by eight he was sketching homemade line maps on printer paper to find the fastest fake split times. That freedom, he says, still shows up in the arcs that look off-script even when they’re on time.
Youth Olympic Sweep Created Early Pressure
At 16 he grabbed three golds at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, the first American to sweep any Olympic-level alpine event since Ted Ligety’s 2006 junior haul. Cereal-box fame followed, plus a fast-track invite to the U.S. Ski Team. Radamus says the hype “warped” his expectations; he hit the World Cup at 19 guessing podiums were automatic and instead logged two seasons deep in the 20s and 30s, learning raw speed needed surgery, not swagger.
Radamus Uses Breath Ladder and Pole-Guard Cue to Handle Stress
Now a steady top-15 GS contender, Radamus runs a three-step pre-race drill: 60-second breath ladder, eyes-shut visualization, and the word “loose” inked on his pole guard. Mandatory sports-psych sessions came after three Soldeu DNFs in 2021 nearly booted him off the Olympic team. “I treated every run like it decided my identity,” he told host Nick Fellows. “Letting go of the story gave me the story I wanted.”
Painting and Base-Top Art Keep Mind Flexible Off the Hill
Away from the gates he paints acrylic abstracts and designs his own Rossignol ski bases, sure that color choice nudges confidence. He cites psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s flow research, copying its narrow-focus rules to course inspection. Teammates joke about the art talk, yet Radamus notes Norway’s Lucas Braathen—who quit at 26 to make music—as proof creativity and elite racing can share a playlist.
Cortina 2026 Looms as Radamus Targets First Olympic Medal
Eleven months out from the Milan-Cortina Games, Radamus has doubled gym sessions and cut summer bike miles to spare his knees. Coaches slotted him into the “red group,” a five-man test squad that gets first pick of race skis and wax. The giant-slalom course at Olimpia delle Tofane, all side-hill and high-line friendly, fits his game. His goal is plain: “Ski free, finish first, and still love the sport at breakfast.”
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Where to listen and watch
All episodes are available on:
- FIS TV
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Deezer
New Alpine Pulse – Unplugged clips post each Wednesday as the FIS Originals production, filmed with Maniac Studios, widens its lens on ski-racing culture.
Useful Resources
- FIS Alpine Hub – Live timing, start lists, and athlete bios updated during every World Cup stop
- Alpine Pulse Podcast Archive – More than 40 long-form interviews with stars such as Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard Mental Strength Portal – Free workbooks on visualization, breathing routines, and post-race reset protocols
- Cortina 2026 Course Maps – PDF downloads of Olympic GS, SL, and downhill lines for fans planning spectator routes
Source: FIS Alpine Pulse podcast, February 2026 episode
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