Information submitted in a nomination letter to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame by Mark A. Carruthers.

The truly gifted athletes make it look easy. Second only to the legendary Ingemar Stenmark, Jan Bucher has more World Cup victories than any other member of the U.S. Ski Team, both past and present.

Jan Bucher was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 17, 1957. An avid ice skater and competitor as a child, Jan insists that she never left skating but simply incorporated her ice skating finesse into a ski career.

An ice skater until 18, an injury forced her to reconsider skating as her sport. While pondering this decision, she was contacted by former U.S. Ski Team member, Bob Theobold, about her help in adding some new maneuvers to his routine.

Jan stepped into skis for the first time at age 18 and the Jan Bucher career had begun. In her 11 season career as a freestyle skier, Bucher amassed a phenomenal record!

She has 57 World Cup victories, second only to the great Ingemar Stenmark. Jan won the U.S. National Ballet Championships in 1988, 1989 and 1991 and the World Cup Ballet Championship in1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1989. Add to this a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics at Calgary, Canada where freestyle was an exhibition sport and the gold medal in the 1989 World Freestyle Championships at Oberjoch, Germany. This tells you just what type of a talented athlete and competitor Jan Bucher really is.

Jan Bucher retired from competitive freestyle skiing after the 1991 season and accepted a coaching positon with the Canadian National Team.

Along with her coaching responsibilities, Jan is proprietor of a ski camp on Mount Hood in the off-season.

Jan Bucher was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1993.