Jonny Moseley

Jonny Moseley was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1975, and his family relocated to California when he was a child. He began skiing at a young age, joining the Squaw Valley Freestyle Ski Team. In 1992, he won his first Junior National title in Freestyle Skiing, and by 1993, he had been selected for the U.S. Ski Team. Moseley’s competitive career saw him win his first World Cup moguls event in 1996. His breakthrough year came in 1998 when he secured wins in the first two World Cup events of the season and subsequently earned a gold medal in moguls at the Nagano Winter Olympics. That same year, he won nine events, became the U.S. champion, and took home the season World Cup title. Following his Olympic success, Moseley championed greater athlete participation in professional events such as ESPN’s X Games, where he earned a silver medal in the Big Air event in 1999, making him the first skier to medal in both the Olympics and the X Games. In 2000, he won the U.S. Freeskiing Open.

Moseley’s influence extended beyond competition. He developed the “Dinner Roll” aerial ski move, a 720-degree off-axis rotation, which he introduced at the 1999 X Games and successfully lobbied the Olympic Skiing Federation to allow in competition. Although it did not lead to a medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, his innovative approach helped reshape the sport of moguls, with similar tricks becoming standard. After his competitive ski career, Moseley diversified his activities, including roles as a television presenter for MTV’s “The Challenge” and co-host of “American Ninja Warrior.” He also served as the Olympic and World Cup Freestyle skiing analyst for NBC from 2010 to 2022 and has narrated Warren Miller Entertainment ski films. Moseley started college at UC Davis in 1995 and later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007 with a B.A. in American Studies. He has been recognized as “Sportsman of the Year” by the U.S. Olympic Committee and hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2002, becoming the traditional post-Olympics athlete host.