Sophia Shuell Caldwell Hamilton (born March 22, 1990) is a retired American cross-country ski racer who specialized in sprint disciplines. She won two races and achieved a total of 10 podiums in

World Cup competition A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. Since 2019, Caldwell has been married to fellow US cross-country teammate

Simeon Hamilton Simeon "Simi" Hamilton (born May 14, 1987) is an American, former cross-country skier, who competed between 2000 and 2021. Hamilton attended Middlebury College from 2005 to 2009, during which time he competed for its ski team, individually earni ...

. On March 22, 2021, aged 31, she announced retirement from competitive skiing.

Biography

Early years

Sophie Caldwell was born in 1990 in the small town of

Peru, Vermont Peru is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 531 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Originally known as Bromley, the town name was changed to "Peru" by t ...

, to Lilly and Sverre Caldwell. Her paternal grandfather John Caldwell, uncle Tim Caldwell and cousin Patrick Caldwell (Tim Caldwell's son) are all Olympic skiers. Sophie attended the

Stratton Mountain School The Stratton Mountain School is a college preparatory high school located at Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont. The school was founded in 1972 by Warren Hellman and Donald Tarinelli. The current headmaster is Carson Thurber. Stratton Moun ...

Stratton, Vermont Stratton is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 440 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.9 square miles (121.5 km2), of which 46. ...

, a preparatory high school with specialized skiing programs, where her father Sverre was the Nordic Director. She later majored in psychology at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

, graduating in 2012. During her college years, she participated in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

skiing championships. After graduating, she continued skiing professionally and joined the SMS T2 team in Stratton.

Athletic career

Caldwell made her debut in

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

in Quebec's sprints in December 2012 with 14th place in the individual competition. At the 2013 World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme Caldwell finished 20th in classical style sprint. In 2014 in

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. Th ...

, Switzerland, she placed sixth in the freestyle sprint. On March 1, 2014, Caldwell finished third in the Lahti, Finland freestyle sprint World Cup, for her first podium. At the

2014 Sochi Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

, she finished sixth in the freestyle sprint. She was in position to contend for a medal midway through the final when

Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (born 22 January 1987) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). She skied with the IL Heming club in Oslo, near Holmenkollen. Her greatest achievement is win ...

poled between her legs, causing her to crash and taking her out of contention for a medal. She finished 12 seconds behind in sixth place. This is the best ever result by a female American cross-country skier. Caldwell got her first victory in the World Cup during the 2016 edition of the

Tour de Ski The Tour de Ski (TdS) is a cross-country skiing event held annually since the 2006–07 season in Central Europe. The Tour de Ski is a Stage World Cup event in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup. Each Tour de Ski has consisted of six to nine stages ...

. She won the classic sprint in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in German ...

, Germany on January 5, 2016. With this victory, Caldwell was only the second American woman with a victory in the World Cup, the other being

Kikkan Randall Kikkan Randall (born December 31, 1982) is an American Olympic champion Cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier. She has won 17 U.S. National titles, made 29 podiums on the World Cup, made five trips to the Winter Olympic Games and had ...

. Caldwell is also the first American woman to win a classical World Cup event.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

World Championships

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

* 2 victories – (1 , 1 ) * 10 podiums – (7 , 3 )

Team podiums

* 4 podiums – (2 , 2 )

References

External links

Sophie Caldwell's blog
*
archive
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell-Hamilton, Sophie 1990 births American female cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers for the United States Dartmouth College alumni Living people Skiers from Vermont 21st-century American sportswomen