Beckedorff wins Masters ski events on the national and world stages

Carolyn Beckedorff's ski racing career is going downhill -- fast. In February, the 41-year-old mother won both the slalom and giant slalom events at the U.S. Masters Nationals at Mammoth Mountain in California. For an encore, she won a gold medal in the women's 40-44 age group slalom -- and fourth place overall -- at the FIS Masters World Championships in Austria in April.

"Standing on the podium, with the American flag behind me, and two Austrians on either side of me, listening to our national anthem, was pretty darn cool," Beckedorff said. "It wasn't the Olympics, but there were about a thousand people there, and my son was there, so it was quite special."

Beckedorff has been skiing since she could walk, but didn't start racing in earnest until she was a teen-ager. She raced and played soccer at the University of New Hampshire. After she took time out to coach, the racing bug bit her again around 2000. "I just couldn't get that out of my system," she said.

Today, Beckedorff trains at least five days a week, focusing on an overall cross-training conditioning program. "This summer, just for giggles, I trained for a sprint triathlon," she said.

The head trader for a small investment firm in Boston, Beckedorff splits her months between homes in Wellesley, Mass., and Gilford, N.H. She also makes time for her husband, Tony DiGangi, whom she met while coaching, and their 6-year-old son, Harrison.

The mention of the boy makes Beckedorff reassess her highlights from last year's ski season. "Actually, my highlight was watching Harrison ski the bowls at Mammoth, skiing down those as a 6-year-old," she said. "He was by far the smallest kid up there. That was just amazing."