BIOGRAPHY:
Nordic combined skier Bryan Fletcher is a cancer survivor whose tenacity and get-it-done outlook helped take him to three World Championships and fueled his first full season on the World Cup circuit in 2011. Fletcher not only made his debut as a regular on the World Cup circuit then, but also achieved the highest American points-scorer on the Worlds Ranking List, including a career-best eighth in Ramsau, Austria.  He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 3 and eventually underwent chemotherapy for over seven years, surviving a stroke in the process before going into remission. Since then Fletcher has never looked back, improving each season and quickly developing into a nordic combined contender.

BRYAN SAYS:
The 2011 season was a breakthrough season for me. After last year's season I came into the summer fired up to train. I put in some hard work and it paid off with personal best results. I was able to gain experience skiing with the world's best as well as how to handle myself on the World Cup circuit throughout the whole season. Looking forward, I still have work to do to be among the best consistently. This summer I will continue to put in the hard work I did last summer to try to give myself every opportunity possible to succeed next season.

FIRST TRACKS:
He was skiing by 3; his father, who is still on the Steamboat Ski Patrol, "took me up on the mountain almost every day when I was really little." Fletcher started ski jumping at 4, added cross country at 6 and became a combiner. One of the reasons I started jumping early, he explained, was I liked it, but I'd also come close to dying from the cancer. Doctors didn't want me to jump, but my mom wanted me to be happy, so I started and I've stuck with it. He first reached the Junior World Championships in 2003, missed in '04 after knee surgery and returned in 2005 and '06.

OFF THE SNOW:
I love to relax. Training is always strenuous so when I have free time I enjoy quality time with friends, camping, and kayaking, or just being lazy. In addition to that I enjoy giving back. I am continuing to improve upon my volunteer portfolio. Last summer I rejoined the LLS society and Team in Training to take part in the Moab Century Tour, in which the team raised $450,000 to fight cancer. I also took part in the "Livestrong Ski 4 Yellow."  This summer I plan to branch out and work with more organizations and on new projects.