Alpine ski legend hoping to compete in 7th Winter Olympics in 2026 — with her son

Sarah Schleper knows she now has something in common with Lebron James.

“People have sent us articles,” the 46-year-old Alpine skiing legend said after finishing ninth in the super-G at the U.S. Alpine Championships on Sunday in Vail. While the NBA’s all-time leading scorer made it known that one motivation for playing a 22nd season was to suit up alongside his son, Schleper is hoping to make a seventh Olympics so she can represent Mexico at a Winter Games with her son, Lasse.

“That’s the goal,” she said of trying to become the first mother and son to compete in the Winter Olympics. In 2016, Nino Salukvadze and her son, Tsotne, competed in shooting in the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games. Another carrot for Schleper: making her Olympic downhill debut next February.

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“That’s kind of my end goal,” she said.

The daughter of longtime Vail ski shop owner, Buzz Schleper, Sarah Schleper raced her first World Cup in Vail as a 16-year-old in 1995. Two years later, she competed in the first of her four Olympics for the U.S. in Nagano before representing Mexico in the last two. She was 37th in the GS and 35th in the super-G in Beijing. These days, Schleper stays in shape chasing around U10 and U12 athletes at Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.

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“Actually it’s my favorite thing to do,” she said of her coaching position. “I love being with the kids. It’s been a natural transition for sure.”

In addition to setting courses and occasionally taking tech laps on her 182s with athletes, Schleper said she stays fit with yoga, tai chi and a lot of dog walking.

“I don’t train much,” she admitted. “So it’s basically off of all my experience in the past.”

When she stepped into the start gate on Sunday, she said she was a little anxious at first, but when the adrenaline rush hit, she knew she was right in her element.

“I love it. I get nervous still —I’m like, ‘oh I haven’t run speed in so long,'” she said. “I was like, ‘just go!”

Tricia Mangan won the race in 56.31 seconds while Schleper finished about one second off the podium. During the race, Schleper’s self-talk centered around the tips she gives her kids.

“I’ve been working a lot with them about getting a long, strong leg early, so I was just trying to feel that,” she said. “I was trying not to over-ski it.”

Prior to Sunday’s start, Schleper’s last FIS file entry was the FIS World Championship GS in Saalbach, Austria on Feb. 13, where she placed 37th. She’s also contested a handful of local FIS races in Vail and Copper Mountain this winter, with three top-10s to show for it. To be eligible for Cortina next February, she’ll need to get her downhill FIS points under 80. Right now, she’s at 105.78 for that event, 34.20 for GS and 85.62 for super-G.

“Honestly, I think I could still have a shot if I trained more,” Schleper stated. “I could probably be a little more competitive.”

Last December, Schleper was a forerunner at the Birds of Prey World Cup with fellow American Alpine great Lindsey Vonn. She said she spoke with Vonn this summer about taking advantage of the new FIS ‘wild card’ rule. At the time, Vonn was secretive.

“She’s like, ‘nah Schlep,” said Schleper, who cheered on Vonn as the 40-year-old skied to a second-place finish in the World Cup Finals super-G last week.

“It was so fun,” Schleper said. “She did great and we’re so proud of her. It just goes to show that age is getting (to be) less and less of a factor.”

While the ski world has been wowed by Vonn’s comeback, Schleper’s longevity is on another level.

“I’ve always wondered if my career has helped inspired her a little bit,” Schleper said before saying the secret is simply ‘experience.’

“It’s not just about the skiing – it’s the terrain, line and all those things start to play in,” she said. “There’s so many little things you need to do to get better.”