Athlete profile: Shannon Dunn

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

Dunn aims for Olympic gold on a board she created...the Shannon 44 was recently redesigned by Dunn to be slightly stiffer and more stable for landing, plus she painted the graphics herself...in seasons' past, she has made use of money received from her design..."I like to donate part of my board sales every year to a different cause," she said...past charities include the Dolphin Fund and the Breast Cancer Foundation...although Dunn has not revealed who will benefit this season she has announced her return to half pipe competition..."For a few years, competing wasn't the cool thing to do anymore," she explained. "In the last two years,the top riders were filming. In the past, to be a pro snowboarder you needed to get yourself out to the public by competition and the magazines covered the sport. Over the last couple of years it took a new direction. Snowboarders got parts in films, magazines and get exposure that way"...as a result, Shannon said, "[Someone is the] best snowboarder in the world because of everything; competition, films and photos"...the fact that the sport can change its concentration is what Shannon likes the best..."That's what makes it soulful," she said. "Now people are getting back into it [competition] for the Olympics," Dunn explained...and Dunn, a two-time US Open champion, is no exception..."This year I decided to get back into it for the Olympics," she admitted. "I look at it like it's going to be a good time"...Shannon was a little disturbed, however, at the first mention of half pipe in the Games..."I was like, ‘what? You're taking a soulful sport like that and making it like ski racing!'"...unfortunately, she is still skeptical..."I think snowboarding is a young sport. I've been riding for seven years now. Right now the competition is very disorganized. They're coming up with a new format"...snowboarding in the Olympics is "like skateboarding and surfing being in the Olympics. It's just silly," she says...regardless, Dunn said she does want to go to Japan..."I know it's going to be a stressful time for a lot of people," she says, "but my goal is to have the best fun that I can possibly have"...Shannon has been all about fun her entire life...she skied as a child only when her parents went on vacations outside of Arlington Heights but she figure skated throughout childhood..."We grew up around the rink," she said speaking of her brother Sean. "My dad was a hockey coach and played semi-pro hockey when we were growing up. But he wanted to change careers and my mom and dad always wanted to live in the mountains"...that move to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, at age nine, allowed Shannon to ski more often..."Seven years ago, Steamboat allowed snowboarding," Shannon says. "My brother taught me to snowboard. He learned from his friends"...snowboarding was an extracurricular activity, until her first semester at University of Colorado, when she was pulled into the sport full-time... Dunn said she will choose that career path because her body is sensitive..."I think I want to be a naturopathic doctor. It's natural ways of healing," says Dunn. "I don't take medications. That's why I kinda got interested in it"...Shannon described her routine..."I do a lot of yoga. And eat healthy. I feel that I can heal faster that way. There's no reason for me to take medications. I take herbs and get acupuncture," she said... another aspect of Dunn's healing process are the breaks she takes every year..."I live in Utah in the winter and San Diego where I surf all summer," she laughed..."I still have Colorado license plates so I still consider myself a Colorado local," Dunn grinned... Seanand his wife own a restaurant in...