David Wise, Christian and Olympian
American David Wise has became the first Olympic gold medalist in the history of the sport of men's freestyle skiing halfpipe.
Wise, 23, scored 92 out of 100 in his first round of the finals, a number which put him atop the podium on Tuesday. In his second round, Wise only earned a 3.4 after falling, which gave him the distinction of scoring the event's highest and lowest scores.
"I think free skiing really rose to the occasion and put on a good show in spite of the conditions," Wise told NBC's The Today Show on Wednesday morning about his performance, addressing the rain, fog and snow that the athletes were confronted with while competing on Tuesday.
In a sport known for its at times brash and laid-back athletes, Wise, who is a Christian, married, and a father of a two-year-old, stands out. He and his wife Alexandra run the youth group at their church and the skier said he could even see himself as "a pastor of a church at some point."
