BIOGRAPHY
Taekwondo’s loss is the U.S. Ski Team’s gain as Hailey Duke competed in the martial arts nationals and team trials as a teenager before deciding to focus on ski racing. Her determination helped produce a breakthrough season in 2007, including a NorAm win and a ticket to the U.S. Ski Team. She's been climbing the ranks ever since.

UPDATE
Duke blew open the season early with her first World Cup points, finishing 21st in slalom at the Aspen Winternational. It was a huge confidence boost for the young tech ace and propelled her to score in three more World Cup slalom's, including a career best eighth at Semmering, Austria in late December, and earn a spot on the 2009 World Championships Team. However, the numbers really don't depict the full story as Duke was in contention for numerous top-10 finishes and even possible podium finishes before bowing out in the second run. Chances are, she's working on getting that fixed and will be charging full on for two runs on her way to a possible Olympic start. "Now I have World Cup points and I know I can do it. I just have more motivation to just keep at it," Duke said. "I have it under my belt and I can kind of throw myself down the hill and see what happens. I can let it go a little bit more." An off season of building core strength and quickness will only feed her need for speed.

OLYMPIC SEASON
Duke's selection to the 2010 U.S. Olympic Alpine Ski Team comes on the hinges of a breakout 2009 season and spurts of that season in 2010. She hasn't placed better than 21st in a World Cup race during the 2010 season prior to the Olympics, but coaches have seen her speed in sections of every run. If she can connect all those sections into two solid slalom runs, she has the potential to be one of the fastest women on the snow. The Olympics, after all, are all about surprises.

FIRST TRACKS
Her parents (Larry and Jane) were ski instructors at Sun Valley, so she started skiing at 2 at Sun Valley’s Dollar Mountain. Her first race was a Kindercup event when she was 4; “I actually had to do it twice because my first go around I missed the finish to go hit my favorite jump.” Duke began racing with the McCall Ski Team in Idaho at age 8, but shifted to the Park City Ski Team in 2004. She also practiced Taekwondo, competing at the national level and at age 15 coming in third at U.S. Team Trials; She no longer competes, but uses Taekwondo as a cross-training vehicle - “and it definitely works,” she said. 

FIRST WORLD CUP
November, 25, 2007 - Panorama, BC - slalom