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Scott Macartney spent 10 years racing World Cup speed events on the US Ski Team. To understand what motivates someone like Scott, you must first understand the mind of a Downhiller. Downhill racers ski in excess of 90 mph, on slopes as steep as 40 degrees, over conditions as slick as an ice-skating rink.
The difference between winning a World Cup Downhill and coming in 20th place is so microthin it can be only .08 of a second.
Scott Macartney laying it out in Val Gardena
Macartney grew up skiing at the Crystal Mountain, where his parents were members of the volunteer ski patrol.
During his twelve-year tenure on the National Team, he also attended Dartmouth and earned a degree in Economics.
Macartney competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City as well as the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. He had two World Cup Podium finishes., one in Super-G in Garmisch, Germany and one in Downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.
On his 30th birthday in 2008, Macartney competed in the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria. The second racer on the course, he had an excellent run going until he suffered a spectacular fall just five seconds from the finish line. After descending a high-speed section and reaching a speed of 87.7 mph Macartney was challenging for a top ten finish. At the final jump he was twisted left while airborne and could not recover. During the high-speed crash he impacted hard on his right side; his skis released, as did his protective helmet after a direct impact with the icy course.
Macartney recovered from his injuries and was named to the “A Team” of the U.S. Ski Team for the 2008-09 World Cup season, before he retired in 2010.
