Marco Sullivan grew up in Lake Tahoe with skiing in his soul. He was on a ski hill in his earliest memory, coming down a snow-covered gravel hill in his backyard at three. He learned to go fast on some of the gnarliest terrain at Squaw Valley and was a promising four-event skier before he started to concentrate on downhill. It's all about the speed.

For Sullivan, the 2013 season proved to be his best since he rocked his first World Cup win in 2008. A season-opening downhill podium in Lake Louise set the pace for "Sully" to finish 14th in the season-long standings. For a downhiller, being in the top 15 draw is prime real estate. What makes it even more impressive is that he opted to skip the Bormio, Italy DH.

A sore knee toward the end of the season turned out to be a little more than sore, and it prompted a scope, sidelining him from the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships held on his home snow in Squaw Valley. It's safe to say the scope worked. Sully won his third-straight Arctic Man race a few weeks later and set a new track record.

MARCO SAYS
I had a small knee injury after the World Cup in Norway and it was a little bit too tender to race World Cup Finals and U.S. Champs. It was cool to have so much support this season from great people who continued to believe in me. I was back on the World Cup podium and now pumped for another Olympic season.

Lake Louise set in immediately. It was a little bit emotional at the finish. Just to have that happen after a few down years and to start out the year like this, is beyond my expectations.

I wouldn't still be racing if I didn't think I could still compete. Last year, my place on the team was a little bit in jeopardy. I lost a lot of sponsors. I worked really hard this summer and for it to show on the first race of the year was special.

FIRST TRACKS
Sullivan was on skis at three and racing by seven with Squaw Valley's Mighty Mites program. When he claimed a DH bronze medal in '99, coaches felt he was ready for varsity. A four-event skier early on, he became a bronze medalist in slalom at '00 Juniors Worlds outside Quebec City before zeroing-in on speed racing with the 2001 season.

OFF THE SNOW
Sullivan is easy-going and always smiling. He enjoys kicking back with a fly rod, a cruise on Lake Tahoe or a good backpacking/mountain biking trip with his girlfriend, retired Canadian slalom ace Anna Goodman. He's also becoming a staple among the Alaskan community after winning the Hoodoo Mountains Arctic Man for the third-straight year and setting a new course record. New this summer, Sully moved to Utah to take up shop at the Center of Excellence and pursue a degree with Westminster College.