A Reason to Train: Why Olympic Skier and 100 Year Athlete Picabo Street Returned to the Gym

After inspiring a generation of alpine skiers, Olympic Gold Medalist Picabo Street retired from the sport at age 33. Some 20 years later, Peek is training again—but not for performance or Olympic glory. She’s at Off The Mountain training for longevity, wellness, and pain-free days on the slopes.

During her 13-year career as an elite alpine skier, Picabo Street left nothing on the table. She took silver at the Lillehammer Olympics (1994), gold at Nagano (1998), nine World Cup wins, and three World Championship medals including gold. She also tore one ACL, suffered a major concussion, and managed in one crash to break her femur in nine places and tear the other ACL.

“I know a lot of people who came out of it chewed up,” says Peek about professional skiing in a recent interview with OTM’s Ben Van Treese.

Peek had trained to perform and win. Pressure from coaches, family, and fans always pushed her to go harder. But when she retired at age 33, she no longer had that reason to train. And some 20 years passed before she found a new reason.   

“The why now is longevity,” says Peek. “… I walk out the door so much more relieved and so much more fulfilled and so much more peaceful. I'm training so that I feel better about myself inside and I'm less reactive to the world around me.”

This was certainly an adjustment. Peek had to learn how to put herself first and not get caught up in the extreme expectations she set for herself as a competitor. 

“I’m no longer uptight about what I can and can’t do in the gym. I’m over it,” she says. Her goal is simply to ski every day of the season, pain-free, with awesome people. 

This interview is an opportunity to hear from Peek herself about how she once trained and how she approaches it today, as a 100 Year Athlete. Highlights of the conversation include: 

• The arc of performance-centered training, from building muscle, power, and endurance initially to prioritizing maintenance and self-preservation.

• Knowing when to push versus when to rest and take the day off.

• Tapping into community and fellowship at the gym and on the slopes.

• “Make Peek more fit days” versus “Make Peek work better days.”

• What she has learned from mentoring young athletes at Picabo Street Academy.

• Why 33-year-old Peek probably wouldn’t listen to 52-year-old Peek about slowing down, meditating, breathing, and not always being so calculated.

Be sure to check out the full interview with Picabo Street here.