BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — If you see C.J. Mueller skiing at Breckenridge, there’s a good chance he’ll be taking it slow but there was a time where people watching C.J. saw a guy ski racing at over 130 miles an hour on the slopes, “I’m learning to scrub a lot of speed as I sashay down the slopes,” said Mueller.
Three decades ago, C.J. was a speed skier, a sport where racers go straight down a 1000-meter run, they don’t turn at all, and try to go as fast as possible. As a result, he managed to do something that nobody had ever done before, “In 1987, I was the first skier to exceed 130 miles an hour,” said Mueller.
He's spent years racing in world cup events, even having competed at the 1992 Olympics, where he went over 137 miles an hour on skis. In Breckenridge, there’s a ski run named after him and this spring, he will be inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, “I think I will be the fourth speed skier to be inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame so it’s an honor,” said Mueller.
It’s an honor that took three decades but C.J. says he doesn’t mind because after all that racing, he just likes to take things a little slower these days, “I ski pretty slow anymore,” said Mueller. “My friends take off and I make a lot of turns.”
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