Hig Roberts
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{short description|American alpine skier (born 1991)}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|3|15}}
| birth_place = Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S.
| occupation = Alpine skier
| partner = Luke Macfarlane (2020-present)
| children =
}}
Hig Roberts (born March 15, 1991) is an American alpine skier. He had 31 starts in the World Cup between 2015 and 2019 and won 2 giant slalom national titles competing on the United States Ski Team.
Early life and education
Roberts was born March 15, 1991,{{Cite web |title=Hig Roberts - Player Profile |url=https://www.eurosport.com/geoblocking.shtml |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.eurosport.com}} and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where he started skiing at 2 years old. He competed in a large tournament for the first time at the age of 9 and broke his femur, resulting in a risky surgery. He began questioning his sexuality when he was 12 but did not come out. Roberts placed 7th in the giant slalom at the 2013 Winter Universiade.{{Cite web |title=Hig Roberts {{!}} my.usskiandsnowboard.org |url=https://my.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/hig-roberts-1 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=my.usskiandsnowboard.org}} Roberts graduated from Middlebury College in 2014.{{Cite news|last=Brassil|first=Gillian R.|date=December 13, 2020|title=Ski Champion Comes Out as Gay: 'I'm Ready to Be Happy'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/sports/skiing/hig-roberts-comes-out.html|access-date=December 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}
Career
Roberts was one of a few former college skiers to join the United States Ski Team B. In 2017, Roberts beat Tim Jitloff in the giant slalom at Sugarloaf, Maine to earn his first national title. He won again in 2018. He was the first alternate U.S. team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.{{Cite web|last=Artavia|first=David|date=December 13, 2020|title=Hig Roberts, World Cup Alpine Skier, Comes Out as Gay|url=https://www.out.com/sports/2020/12/13/hig-roberts-world-cup-skier-comes-out-gay-interview|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=December 13, 2020|website=Out|language=en}} After retiring from sports in 2019, Roberts worked in finance in Norway and continues to ski recreationally.{{Cite web|last=Higgins|first=Sean|date=April 14, 2019|title=2019: The Year of the Retirement|url=https://skiracing.com/2019-the-year-of-the-retirement/|access-date=December 13, 2020|website=Ski Racing Media|language=en-US}}
Personal life
In August 2016, Roberts' younger brother, Murphy, suffered a diabetic seizure while hiking and died from a head injury at the age of 22. He had type 1 diabetes and was a major influence on Roberts.{{Cite web |last=Reichenberger |first=Joel |date=2016-12-21 |title=Looking for Murphy: Roberts family finds more than a race in Holiday Classic |url=https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/looking-for-murphy-roberts-family-finds-more-than-a-race-in-holiday-classic/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.steamboatpilot.com |language=en-US}}
In December 2020, Roberts came out as gay.{{Cite web|last=Robledo|first=Jordan|date=December 13, 2020|title=U.S Skiing champion Hig Roberts has come out as gay|url=https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/u-s-ski-champion-hig-roberts-has-come-out-as-gay/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=December 13, 2020|website=Gay Times|language=en-GB}}
On June 4, 2023, he had a daughter with actor Luke Macfarlane.{{Cite web |title=Luke Macfarlane Says First Christmas with 5-Month-Old Daughter Tess Will Be 'Very Exciting' (Exclusive) |url=https://people.com/luke-mcfarlane-says-christmas-with-5-month-old-daughter-tess-will-be-very-exciting-exclusive-8403361 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}
See also
{{portal|Sports|United States|Colorado|Biography}}
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References
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External links
- [https://dev.usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/hig-roberts US Ski and Snowboard bio]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century American sportsmen
Category:Sportspeople from Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Category:Middlebury College alumni
Category:Middlebury Panthers athletes
Category:American male alpine skiers