SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Growing up in a place like Lake Tahoe, it’s nearly impossible not to be enamored by its beauty and nature-centric lifestyle. For Shannon Colleton, it was a certainty.
Born at Barton Memorial Hospital and raised in South Lake Tahoe, Colleton developed her love for the open air with the help of her parents.
“I feel really fortunate that my parents are really outdoorsy, active and adventurous. They instilled that curious spirit in myself,” said Colleton who wore her first pair of skis at the age of two.
That curiosity drove her toward the sciences, and her interests in the medical aspects of the outdoor world acted as her compass.
“As I was going through undergrad, I still loved sciences and thought ‘maybe medical school?’ But I really wanted something I could do outdoors.”
During her senior year at the University of Southern California, Colleton found herself pondering her next steps. She took a physiology class and as fate would have it, she found her calling in physical therapy. Later, through a sports physical therapy residency at the University of Delaware, she gained hands-on experience that would take her to the summit as a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Today, you can find Colleton still on that summit with the U.S. Women’s Alpine Ski team. Most recently, she was in the Dolomites working alongside six Olympic athletes.
4 a.m. morning treatments, going back and forth to hospitality, warm-ups, and inspecting the race hill for safety hazards – these are just some of the duties in Colleton’s first half of the day in Cortina d’Ampezzo. She’s also responsible for running the radios between athletes and coaches, and during races, she is stationed in the start gate as the women prepare to race. Although she stays busy, it’s safe to say Colleton is living her dream.
“We’ve had a really strong season, and a really strong team with a lot of depth,” said Colleton. “There were a lot of expectations on our women, and they really delivered.”
And deliver they did as Breezy Jonhson took home gold in the women’s downhill with a time of 1:36.10. During the team combined, Jackie Wiles and Paula Moltzan won a bronze medal.
“To qualify for the Olympic team is life changing in itself, and it’s something these athletes have worked for their whole life. They’re incredibly talented and super deserving, and have overcome, each one of them, a lot to be there.”
Despite her busy schedule, she was able to enjoy the company of her parents and sister who flew to Italy to watch her in action. “It’s that unconditional love and support from them that I’m really thankful to have.”
After the Olympics, Colleton and the U.S. Women’s Ski Team headed to Andorra for the World Cup. Whilst she considers the team to be her second family, her home will always be in South Lake Tahoe.
“I’ve traveled all around the world, and I’ve skied in the Austrian Alps, the Swiss Alps, and the French Alps, the Andes, and Chile. There’s still something so magical about Hope Valley and the Sierra Nevadas in general,” said Colleton. “They still feel like home. The light, the granite, the lakes, there’s something special about it.”
