Louis Philip "Louie" Vito III (born March 20, 1988) is an Italian-American professional

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

. He is an Olympian,

Winter X Games Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

, and U.S. Grand Prix Champion.

Early life

Louis Vito was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in the nearby city of Bellefontaine. In his teenage years, he moved to Vermont to pursue his love of snowboarding by enrolling in the Stratton Mountain School – a ski and snowboarding academy. He spent his high school years snowboarding in the morning, studying in the afternoons, and traveling to competitions when time permitted. After graduating high school, he moved to Sandy, Utah.

Career

Louie Vito has won four of the past five

U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix The U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix was created in 1996 by U.S. Snowboarding with snowboarding progression as a top priority. This annual competition series utilizes top resorts from across the United States to host world-class snowboarding competit ...

Overall Championships, six

X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...

medals, and two

Winter Dew Tour The Dew Tour is an extreme sports circuit organized by the Adventure Sports Group, a subsidiary of American Media, LLC. History The tour was announced in late 2004, and made its debut in Louisville, KY in June 2005. The tour then made stops i ...

Overall Championships, among many other accolades. He rose to prominence on the professional snowboarding scene at age 17 by completing a backside 1080 at the Australian Open Snowboarding Championships – making him the first rider to pull off the complex move in an Australian competition successfully. This helped propel Vito to the top of the podium, capturing his first of two consecutive championships there. Vito is currently the reigning Winter Dew Tour Overall Champion and U.S. Grand Prix Overall Champion. In September 2009, Vito competed on the ninth season of

Dancing With the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

. Partnered with professional dancer Chelsie Hightower, he rehearsed for the show at the same time that he was training for the Olympics. Three months later, he represented the United States at the 21st Olympic Games in Vancouver. In 2022, Vito represented

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the

halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ...

at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...

in Beijing.

Charity

Each year Vito holds the "Louie Vito Rail Jam" in his hometown at Mad River Mountain. The event is held to mentor young riders who are given the opportunity to compete without an entry fee and get outfitted in Vito’s premium gear. The Rail Jam supports local charity St. Vincent De Paul through money raised from auction items and food donated to the food bank by everyone who attends.

Results

* U.S. Olympic Team Member 2010 * Italian Olympic Team Member 2022 * Gold Medalist – Winter X Games Europe 2013 * Gold Medalist – Winter X Games Europe 2011 * Overall Champion – Dew Cup 2011/2012 * Overall Champion – Dew Cup 2010/2011 * Overall Champion – U.S. Grand Prix 2011/2012 * Overall Champion – U.S. Grand Prix 2010/2011 * Overall Champion – U.S. Grand Prix 2008/2009 * Overall Champion – U.S. Grand Prix 2007/2008 * Silver Medalist – Winter X Games Europe 2012 * Bronze Medalist – Winter X Games 2011 * Bronze Medalist – Winter X Games Europe 2010 * 1st Place – Dew Tour, Snowbasin, UT 2012 * 1st Place – Dew Tour, Killington, VT 2011 * 1st Place – Dew Tour, Breckenridge, CO 2010 * 1st Place – Grand Prix, Mammoth, CA 2012 * 1st Place – Grand Prix, Copper Mtn, CO 2010 * 1st Place – Grand Prix, Tamarack Mtn 2009 * 1st Place – Grand Prix, Killington, VT 2008 * 1st Place – Grand Prix, Copper Mtn, CO 2008 * 1st Place – Grand Prix, Tamarack Mtn 2008 * 1st Place – Jeep King Of the Mountain, Squaw Valley 2008 * 1st Place – Garnier Fructis Pro Challenge, Australia 2006 * 1st Place – Burton Australian Open 2005 * 2nd Place – Burton U.S. Open 2012 * 2nd Place – World Cup, Spain 2009 * 2nd Place – Burton U.S. Open 2010 * 2nd Place – Overall U.S. Grand Prix 2009/2010 * 2nd Place – Overall U.S. Grand Prix 2006/2007 * 2nd Place – Dew Tour, Breckenridge, CO 2012 * 2nd Place – Dew Tour, Breckenridge, CO 2011 * 2nd Place – Dew Tour, Killington, VT 2012 * 2nd Place – Grand Prix, Copper Mtn, CO 2011 * 2nd Place – Grand Prix, Mammoth, CA 2010 * 2nd Place – Grand Prix, Boreal 2009 * 2nd Place – Grand Prix, Copper Mtn, CO 2009 * 2nd Place – Vans Cup Superpipe, Tahoe, CA 2008 * 2nd Place – Grand Prix, Tamarac 2007 * 2nd Place – Grand Prix, Mt. Bachelor 2007 * 2nd Place – Burton New Zealand Open 2011 * 2nd Place – Burton New Zealand Open 2006 * 2nd Place – Burton Australian Open 2007 * 3rd Place – World Snowboard Championships, Norway 2012 * 3rd Place – Burton U.S. Open 2013 * 3rd Place – Grand Prix, Copper Mtn, CO 2013 * 3rd Place – Burton New Zealand Open 2010 * 5th Place – Olympics, Vancouver 2010 * Dancing With The Stars, Season 9 * The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros

References

External links

* * * * * *
Louie Vito
at EXPN Online
Rider Info on O-Matic Snowboards

Louie Vito Checks in For Hump Day on YoBeat.com

US Snowboarding Team Officially Named

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vito, Louie 1988 births Living people American male snowboarders Olympic snowboarders of the United States Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio People from Bellefontaine, Ohio Snowboarders at the 2010 Winter Olympics X Games athletes The Challenge (TV series) contestants Olympic snowboarders of Italy Snowboarders at the 2022 Winter Olympics