My most recognizable title is: First U.S. Olympic Medalist for Snowboarding –Men’s and women’s snowboarding made their Olympic debuts at the Nagano Games in 1998 with giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. As a Bronze Medal winner in the halfpipe event, I happened to be the first American medalist. Sometimes it’s all about the right timing! I was also on the 2002 SLC USA Olympic Halfpipe Team and placed 5th.
Throughout my career I set out to be a leader in progression in the halfpipe. I was the first woman to land several halfpipe tricks in competition: Frontside 540 in 1991, Backside 540 in 1994, Frontside 720 in 1995, McTwist in 1998, Frontside Rodeo 720 in 2001.
In 1994 I was the First Woman to have a marketed women’s pro model snowboard. Sales of my pro model board went through the roof, showing the industry that there was a legitimate market for women. This caused a surge of companies creating women’s specific product.
I am Co-Founder of Boarding For Breast Cancer, 1996: Our friend was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at 26. Monica was part of the early snowboard industry, and urged her friends in snowboarding to use their platform as a way to raise awareness for this disease among young women. A group of industry women teamed up to start an event centered around their passions of snowboarding and music, while highlighting the importance of education on early detection of the disease. Sadly, Monica passed away right before the event but her spirit shined on that day in a celebration of life and love. The success of the event inspired the founding of B4BC and its annual Snowboard + Music Festival events Click the link to get more info about B4BC https://b4bc.org/about/
In 2016 I was inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame. Watch the tribute video below.
Scroll down to see more photos/magazine clips and a long list of my contest results.
Shannon pioneered the way by winning the bronze medal in the 1998 inaugural Halfpipe event in Nagano, Japan
Since the early days of duct tape and Snurfing, the U.S. Open has been the snowboarder’s competition – the event that defines the sport, year after year. What started out as a grassroots get together with no prizes (save bragging rights) has evolved into a live-streamed showcase of the world’s best riding. (Excerpt from Burton.com)
1997 (Inaugural year) X-Games Gold Medalist-Halfpipe
1999 Silver Medalist-Halfpipe
2001 Gold Halfpipe
2001 Silver Slopestyle
2001 Overall X-Games Athlete
Career Contest Results: 1989-2002
1st: ’89 Halfpipe Rocky Mountain Amateur Series, Silvercreek, CO
2nd: ’89 Overall Halfpipe Rocky Mountain Series
3rd: ’90 Body Glove Snowbout-Shannon’s first pro event, A-Basin, CO
1st: ’91 P.S.T.A Halfpipe, Hunter Mtn, NY
3rd: ’91 Overall Halfpipe P.S.T.A Tour
2nd: ’92 ISF Overall Halfpipe
1st: ’93 ISF Overall Halfpipe World Champion
1st: ’93 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT
1st: ’94 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton Mountain, VT
1st: ’97 Winter X Games Halfpipe, Snow Summit, CA
Bronze Medal Halfpipe: ’98 Nagano Olympics, Yamanouchi Mtn, Japan
1st: ’99 FIS World Cup Halfpipe, Mount Bachelor, OR
1st: ’99 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mount Bachelor, OR
1st: ’99 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Copper Mountain, CO
1st: ’99 Nippon Open Halfpipe, Hokkaido, Japan
1st: ’99 USSA Super Prix Halfpipe and Overall, Okemo Mountain, VT
2nd: ’99 Winter X-Games Halfpipe, Crested Butte, CO
3rd: ’99 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton, VT
1st: ’00 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Northstart at Tahoe, CA
1st: ’00 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Breckenridge Mountain Resort, CO
1st: ’00 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mammoth Mountain, CA
2nd: ’00 Nippon Open Halfpipe, Hakuba, Japan
2nd: ’00 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton, VT
1st: ’01 Halfpipe Winter X-Games, Mount Snow, VT
2nd: ’01 Slopestyle Winter X-Games, Mount Snow, VT
2nd: ’01 US Open Halfpipe, Stratton, VT
1st: ’02 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mammoth Mountain, CA (Dec.16)
1st: ’02 USSA Grand Prix Halfpipe, Mammoth Mountain, CA (Dec.13)
5th: 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics Halfpipe, Park City, U