HIG ROBERTS is an American Alpine skier born on this date. He had 31 starts in the World Cup between 2015 and 2019 and won two giant slalom national titles competing on the U.S. Ski Team.

Roberts was born and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where he started skiing at two years old. He competed in a large tournament for the first time at the age of nine and broke his femur, resulting in a risky surgery. He says began questioning his sexuality when he was twelve but did not come out. Roberts placed 7th in the giant slalom at the 2013 Winter Universiade.

Roberts graduated from Middlebury College in 2014. He was one the 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. After retiring from sports in 2019, Roberts worked in finance in Norway and continues to ski recreationally.

In December 2020, Roberts came out as gay. “I just woke up one morning and I said, ‘Enough is enough.'” He is the first current or former Alpine skier to come out. “Not being able to be openly gay as a professional athlete was truly hindering my performance.