American freeskier (born 1989)
Lexi duPont |
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Born | Alexis duPont (1989-02-16) February 16, 1989 (age 35)
Sun Valley, Idaho |
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Education | Community School, Sun Valley, Idaho; University of Colorado Boulder |
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Occupation | Professional Freeskier |
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Alexis duPont (born February 16, 1989) is an American professional big mountain freeskier. She is a Freeskiing World Tour contender[1] and former Junior Olympics competitor,[2] who has been featured in several films such as Warren Miller’s Wintervention[3] and Tracing Skylines.[4] Her mother, freestyle skier Holley duPont, was one of the first women to land a backflip on skis.[5]
Personal life
One of three daughters of Holley and Chris duPont, duPont was born in Sun Valley, Idaho,[2] After graduating from the Community School in 2007,[6] she moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, to attend Endicott College on a sailing scholarship,[7] but after a year decided to enroll in the University of Colorado Boulder where she majored in fine art.[8] In 2010, duPont circumnavigated the globe with Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the MV Explorer through the study abroad program Semester at Sea.[9] Since graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014, her artwork has earned a permanent display at the American Indian College Fund in Denver.[citation needed]
Career
Lexi’s parents put her in her first set of skis at the age of two.[8] Growing up, she pursued ski racing, competing on the Sun Valley ski team and even qualifying for the Junior Olympics two years in a row.[2] During college, she was a member of the University of Colorado Free Style Team, and entered the Freeskiing World Tour, placing in the top 10 overall in 2009 and 2010.[10] After that, she went on to qualify first at Revelstoke,[11] and finished fourth place at the "Red Bull Cold Rush",[12] in 2012.
duPont was signed to Eddie Bauer’s First Ascent team in 2010.[13][14] In 2013, she was featured in the ski film Tracing Skylines, for which she was nominated for “Best Female Performance” at the Powder Awards,[15] and was also featured in National Geographic’s “Powder Highway Webisodes.”[16]
Philanthropy
In 2007, she participated in a six-week volunteer program at M’Lop Tapang Center for Street Children in Cambodia.[6] Two years later, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise funds for children in Tanzania, Africa.[17] She has also volunteered for Beadforlife,[18] and participates in Play Hard Give Back for Higher Ground, helping people with disabilities experience competition and the outdoors without limitations.[19]
Films
- 2010 | Warren Miller’s “Wintervention”[20]
- 2012 | Two Plank Productions’ “Because”[21]
- 2013 | Dubsatch Collectives’ “AK Our Way”[22]
- 2013 | Poor Boyz Productions’ “Tracing Skylines”[23]
- 2013 | National Geographic’s “Powder Highway Road Trip” Webisodes[24]
- 2014 | Poor Boyz Productions’ “Twenty”[25]
- 2014 | Unicorn Picknick’s “Pretty Faces”[26]
Awards and nominations
- 2010 | 3rd Place Freeskiing World Tour, Telluride, Colo.[27]
- 2012 | 1st Place Freeskiing World Tour Revelstoke Qualifier[11]
- 2012 | 4th Place Red Bull Cold Rush[12]
- 2013 | Nomination for “Best Female Performance” at The Powder Awards[28]
References