Former US Ski Team Speed Star TJ Lanning Dies at 41

Lanning, who was based in Park City, Utah, had described his time competing at the elite level as the defining chapter of his life.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 7/9/2026, 11:26:05 PM EDT

Former US Ski Team Speed Star TJ Lanning Dies at 41 — T.J. Lanning of the United States skis to a 26th place finish in the Men's Super G at the 2008 Birds of Prey FIS Skiing World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colo., on Dec. 6, 2008. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The alpine skiing world is grieving the death of TJ Lanning, a former U.S. Ski Team competitor and coach who built a reputation as one of the more daring American speed skiers of his generation. He was 41 years old.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the national governing body for skiing and snowboarding in the United States, confirmed his passing on Tuesday. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of TJ Lanning, a former U.S. Ski Team alpine skier and coach whose impact on our sport went far beyond his years of competition," the organization stated in an Instagram post. "Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and children during this difficult time."

Lanning, who was based in Park City, Utah, had described his time competing at the elite level as the defining chapter of his life. On LinkedIn, Lanning wrote that his "greatest achievement in life so far has been the 12 years I spent on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team."

His athletic journey began with exceptional promise. According to a news release issued on Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee, Lanning entered the sport as the top-ranked junior in the world in both slalom and super-G in 2001. According to Ski Racing Media, he competed at the 2001 and 2002 FIS Junior World Ski Championships before earning a spot on the senior World Cup circuit.

On the international stage, Lanning specialized in the most unforgiving disciplines—downhill, super-G, and combined—and made his mark with an aggressive racing style. He scored World Cup points nine times for the United States and recorded three top-10 finishes. His best results included a ninth-place finish in downhill at Lake Louise, Canada, on Nov. 29, 2008, and a 10th-place finish in Val Gardena, Italy, on Dec. 20, 2008. He also represented the United States at the 2007 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Åre, Sweden.

Alpine Skiier T.J. Lanning poses for a portrait during the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago on Sept. 10, 2009. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) — Alpine Skiier T.J. Lanning poses for a portrait during the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago on Sept. 10, 2009. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The 2008–2009 season marked both a career peak and its end. Lanning claimed the U.S. downhill title in 2008 and qualified for the World Cup Finals in downhill that season—a major milestone in one of skiing's most demanding disciplines. His final World Cup race came on Nov. 28, 2009, in the downhill at Lake Louise in Canada, where a high-speed crash left him with a dislocated left knee and a fractured C5 vertebra in his neck. The injury brought his racing career to a close.

After stepping away from competition, Lanning channeled his experience into coaching, working with the U.S. Ski Team to help develop the next generation of speed skiers.

Tributes poured in from within the ski community following news of his death. Swiss alpine ski racer Carlo Janka wrote in the comments of the U.S. Ski Team’s Instagram post, "What a tremendous loss for the ski world. He was an incredible athlete and an even more wonderful human being. My thoughts are with his family, friends, and everyone who knew him.”

Fellow ski racing community member Katie Twible also paid tribute, writing: "I feel incredibly lucky to have known TJ through ski racing. His smile lit up every ski hill he was on, and he brought so much energy to the people around him. Today our ski community has lost someone special. My heart is with his family, his children, and everyone who loved him."

A cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.