Nikki Stone
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's Freestyle Skiing | ||
Representing the  United States |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1998 Nagano | Aerials |
| FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships | ||
|
1995 La Clusaz | Aerials |
 |
1999 Meiringen-Hasliberg | Aerials |
Nicole 'Nikki' Stone (born February 4, 1971) is a former American Olympic skier. She was born in Princeton, New Jersey, currently residing in Park City, Utah.
Nikki Stone, who competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, is best known for being the first American to win a gold medal as inverted aerial skier. Aerial Skiing is a sport where athletes ski into a 10-foot snow jump at approximately 40 miles per hour, flip and/or twist to a height of 50-feet, and land on a 45 degree hill.
Eighteen months before this second Olympic appearance, Stone sustained a career-threatening spinal injury in which doctors believed she would never jump again.
Contents
Career highlights
Throughout her career, Nikki earned 35 World Cup medals, eleven World Cup titles, four national titles, two year-long Aerial World Cup titles, and a World Championship title. She also became the first pure aerialist ever (male or female) to become the year-long Overall Freestyle World Cup Champion. She was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 2003.
Television appearances
Late Night with David Letterman, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN Early Addition, MSNBC Morning Line, ESPN Magazine show, Fox News Channel Sports Express, CNN Business As Unusual, Fox Sports News live, the Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, and a televised commercial for Chevrolet and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee.
Authored
Nikki Stone released the inspirational book, "When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out" in January 2010. "When Turtles Fly" intertwines Nikki's own triumphant success story around inspirational stories from contributors like Shaun White, Tommy Hilfiger, Lindsey Vonn, Dr. Stephen Covey, and Prince Albert. Nikki and the book were highlighted on the Today Show shortly after its release. Nikki has written articles for Yahoo! Sports, the United States Olympic Committee, local newspapers, and skiing magazines. She is also a contributing author to the book “Awaken the Olympian Within: Stories from America's Greatest Olympic Motivators”.
Personal life
Nikki Stone earned her undergraduate degree from Union College in New York, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She earned a Master's degree in Sports Psychology from the University of Utah, graduating Summa Cum Lade. In 2008, she gave birth to a daughter named Zali. In 2011, she gave birth to a son named Zealand.
Current career
Nikki currently works as a motivational speaker, author, and a motivational coach for the new Regional Biggest Loser program (in Wichita, Kansas). She has also worked as a Visiting Professor at the University of Utah and a sports psychology consultant for several elite and Olympic athletes. Nikki was hired by the United States Olympic Committee to work with the Winter Olympians in overcoming adversities and distractions, dealing with intense pressure, and developing confidence to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Games.,
Medals
An overview of medals won by Nikki at important championships, listing the years in which she won each:
| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics - Aerials | 1998 | ||
| World Championships - Aerials | 1995 | 1999 | |
| World Cup Freestyle Overall | 1998 | ||
| World Cup Aerial Overall | 1995 1998 |
1999 | 1993 1994 |
| World Cups | 1998/1999 (1x) 1997/1998 (4x) 1995/1996 (1x) 1994/1995 (4x) 1991/1992 (1x) |
1998/1999 (1x) 1997/1998 (3x) 1996/1997 (2x) 1995/1996 (4x) 1994/1995 (3x) 1993/1994 (2x) 1991/1992 (2x) |
1995/1996 (2x) 1994/1995 (2x) 1993/1994 (1x) 1992/1993 (2x) |
| US Championships | 1993 (Aerials) 1994 (Aerials) 1995 (Aerials) 1998 (Aerials) |
1997 (Aerial) 1992 (Aerial) |
1993 (Combined) 1995 (Combined) |
