AJ Ginnis has placed snowsports prominently on the radar of a country traditionally associated with its crystal-clear Mediterranean waters and sunshine. Following his silver win at the FIS Alpine World Championships in Courchevel Meribel, France, a year ago, Ginnis clinched the title of being the first Greek athlete to secure a World Championship medal in a snow or ice-based Olympic sport.
Ginnis, who spent significant time in the United States during his formative years and holds dual Greek and American citizenship, attended a ski academy in Vermont for high school. Named to the US Ski Team at the age of 16, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 2022. However, knee injuries impeded the early progress of AJ’s professional skiing career and prevented him from representing the US team throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Racing for Dartmouth College in 2020 in a bid to regain his place on the US Team for the 2021 season proved futile. Undeterred by six knee surgeries and the setback of being cut from the USST, AJ remained determined to ascend to the ranks of elite racers in FIS World Cup skiing. Following his exclusion from the US team, AJ adopted a novel approach. In 2021, he opted to represent his homeland, Greece, and made history as the first Greek alpine racer to earn World Cup points by finishing eleventh at a slalom event in Austria.
A setback occurred when AJ tore his ACL again in 2021, sidelining him from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. However, he turned this obstacle into an opportunity, collaborating with NBC Sports and winning an Emmy for Outstanding Live Special as an Associate Producer.
During the 2022-23 season, Ginnis secured his first World Cup podium by placing 2nd in slalom at Chamonix, prior to his World Championships silver. Subsequently, in his second race of the 2023-24 campaign at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, AJ achieved another top-10 placement. He has since secured 14th, 13th, and 12th positions in consecutive World Cup starts in Kitzbuehel, Schladming, and Chamonix.
“When I made the US Ski Team we obviously all wore Spyder, and from then on I knew Spyder made the best race suits in the world. So when I started skiing for Greece it was a natural fit to continue my relationship to the brand.” - AJ
In light of AJ’s groundbreaking decision to represent Greece, a country lacking a fully-funded ski and snowboard association like most others, Spyder takes pride in supporting him in his World Cup racing endeavors by providing race suits, outerwear, and midlayers trusted by some of the most successful skiers in the world since 1978.
You can follow AJ’s quest for another podium by watching the Men’s World Cup races in Palisades Tahoe on 2/24-2/25, and Aspen on 3/1-3/3, all available on NBC, Peacock and Outside TV.
The First of His Kind - AJ Ginnis
AJ GINNIS