Tom Wallisch

Tom Wallisch (/ˈwɔːlɪʃ/ WAW-lish;[2] born July 22, 1987 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a professional freeskier.

Tom Wallisch
Personal information
BornJuly 22, 1987 (1987-07-22) (age 33)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1]
Weight150 lb (68 kg)
Medal record
Men's freestyle skiing
Representing the  United States
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
2013 Voss SlopeStyle
Winter Dew Tour
2009 Northstart-at-TahoeSlopeStyle
2011 BreckenridgeSlopeStyle
2011 KillingtonSlopeStyle
2011 OverallSlopeStyle
Winter X Games
2012 Aspen SlopeStyle

Early Life & Education

Wallisch began skiing in 1990 and competing in the sport in 2009.[3] After graduating from high school, Wallisch moved to Salt Lake City for post-secondary education at the University of Utah where he is pursuing a degree in the school of business.[4]

Professional Skiing Career

Tom Wallisch was discovered by entering a short edit in the 2007 Level 1 Superunknown video contest. The video was produced by 4BI9 Media. He pioneered the trend of becoming famous in free skiing by posting videos of his skills online. Typically, fame is achieved in the sport by winning competitions. Once Tom was noticed, however, he began to win competitions left and right.[5]

At Winter X Games XVI, Wallisch won gold in the Slopestyle event.[6]

A raw talent on skis, Wallisch is well regarded for his smooth yet complex spins and composed style.

He is only the third skier in history to win Powder's coveted Reader Poll and the second to take it back-to-back (2011, 2012). He joins only Shane McConkey and Seth Morrison in taking the honor. He is also a winner of Freeskier Magazine's Skier of the Year in 2010 and 2012, receiving 30,000 fan votes on Freeskier.com.

The 2012 season is considered to be Wallisch's break-out competition season. He got first place at the X Games, first place at the Killington Dew Tour, second at Euro X Games in France, and second at the Dew Tour stop at Snow Basin. Wallisch also won the title for the overall Dew Cup and was named the 2012 Men's Slopestyle World Champion.[7]

After years of filming with Level 1 Productions, Wallisch will be doing a solo film project with cinematographer Kyle Decker for the 2012/2013 season.[8]

In the 2013-2014 season, Wallisch tore his ACL and was unable to qualify for the Sochi Olympics. An edit titled "Skier's Discretion" (released by 4bi9 and presented by The North Face) explained the injury and Wallisch's attempts to qualify for the games. He was also featured in a Vice Documentary on the sport of Freeskiing.[9]

For the 2014-2015 ski season, Wallisch switched from his previous ski and goggle sponsor, Scott Sports, to Shred Optics and LINE Skis. Wallisch also shifted his primary focus back from competitions to park and urban filming. Wallisch filmed primarily for the "Good Company" ski film series produced by his film production company "Good Company"

In 2016, Wallisch set a world record with a 424-foot rail grind, surpassing Simen Gjelsvik's previous record of 405 feet.[10]

Tom has a notable release of his Pro Model, the http://www.lineskis.com/en/skis-and-gear/tom-wallisch-pro-1718.html Tom Wallisch Pro] from Line Skis which has received rave reviews[11] from the Park-focused media.

Notable competition results

[12]

  • 2nd, Winter X Games, Tignes, 2012 (slopestyle)
  • 3rd, Winter X Games, Aspen 2012 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Dew Tour stop #1, Killington, 2012 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Dew Tour stop #1, Breckenridge, 2011 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Winter X Games, Tignes, 2010 (slopestyle)
  • 3rd, Dumont Cup, 2010 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Dew Tour stop #2, 2010 (slopestyle)
  • 2nd, AFP Year End, 2010 (slopestyle)
  • 2nd, Dew Tour stop #1, Breckenridge, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Winter Games NZ, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 2nd, New Zealand Open, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Dumont Cup, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 2nd, European Open, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Dew Tour stop #3, Northstar, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, AFP Year End, 2009 (slopestyle)
  • 1st, Ryan Lichtenberg Memorial 2006 (Rail Jam)
  • Rated as ESPN´S Athlete of the year 2012
  • 3x Powder Magazine's Reader Poll Athlete of the Year (2011, 2012, & 2013)

See also

References
  1. http://andrewrubenstein.weebly.com
  2. "Setups: Tom Wallisch's Powder Specific Ski Gear Setup". Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. "ESPN Go! profile".
  4. "About Tom Wallisch". GrindTV.
  5. http://andrewrubenstein.weebly.com
  6. "Winter X Games XVI Men's Ski Slopestyle Results".
  7. http://afpworldtour.com/afp10/tom-wallisch-named-2012-mens-slopestyle-world-champion/
  8. http://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/717301/
  9. http://andrewrubenstein.weebly.com
  10. Sheridan, Jenn. "Tom Wallisch Sets World Record Rail Slide". www.powder.com. The Enthusiast Network. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  11. Pietrowski, Tom. "The Roofbox Reviews: 2017 Line Tom Wallisch Pro". Newschoolers.com. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  12. "Tom Wallisch". ESPN Go!.


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