Kaenon

Morgan (Beck) Miller, recently had her eye saved by a pair of Kaenon Eden sunglasses. Following a golfing accident in which her husband, Olypic skiier Bode Miller, hit a ball that struck the sunglasses covering her left eye, Morgan tweeted a graphic image of the damage to her face (posted at the bottom of the post – not for the faint of heart) and also gave an unsolicited thank you to Kaenon, in the following messages:

(Warning: Linked image is graphic):

I’m not feeling so hot. Line drive to the face today with a golf ball from my darling husband.I still love instagr.am/p/TKWS0bJFhX/

— Morgan Miller (@MorganEBeck) December 13, 2012

A huge thank you to @kaenonBy absorbing a 160mph line drive I only got 50+ stitches instead of losing my eye #lucky twitter.com/MorganEBeck/st…

— Morgan Miller (@MorganEBeck) December 13, 2012

Bode did the same from his account:

Thanks @kaenon for saving my wifes eye.An amazing lense and frame to take a 160mph line drive direct hit and not shatter.#highquality

— Bode Miller (@MillerBode) December 13, 2012

Luckily, Miller’s 160 mph golf shot did not cause permanent damage to Beck’s eye. She’s now recovering well, and has been discharged from the hospital.

“While accidents like this are rare, it was for this exact reason that we set out to create the SR-91 lenses we did,” commented Kaenon’s CEO and co-founder Steve Rosenberg. “Athletes of all types require superior vision and clarity, but lightweight and high mass impact resistance are critical elements for safety. Can you imagine the very different results if Morgan was wearing a glass lens or anything except SR-91? We are so pleased that our impact resistant lens technology and our indestructible Kaenon frames and design did their job when required most. When Bode called me a few months ago to inquire about using Kaenon I was certainly excited to meet him and flattered he’d discovered our brand. During our afternoon together, with him and Morgan, I could have never imagined we’d be playing an integral role in saving’s Morgan’s sight – on the golf course – of all places. Our thoughts and best wishes for a full and speedy recovery go out to Morgan and can’t wait to see her blocking shots at the net again real soon.”

The story was quickly picked up by TMZ on Thursday and was quickly reported on by other major news sources like the Huffinggton Post, the Bleacher Report, USA Today and more.

While skiing in the Colorado back-country, Kaenon skier Nick DeVore, had an unfortunate accident. After two hours of riding, Nick and his crew had been hitting good shoots, one particularly difficult line looked good to Nick, but as he dropped in, a 40-foot section of snow broke way and began to slide. Doing all he could to stay on his feet through the slide, he eventually passed through a section of rock and couldn’t stay up. Once the slide stopped, Nick fought to create an air pocket while buried in the snow. Luckily, another member of his group was close by on a sled and, seeing the incident take place, was able to dig him out in a matter of minutes. Once Nick was freed from the snow, the team realized his femur was broken.

“When the helicopter did arrive—some two hours after DeVore snapped his left femur in a small wet-slab avalanche near Taylor Pass, a remote backcountry locale south of Aspen and north of Crested Butte—a paramedic from the Flight for Life team asked him what his pain level was on a scale from 1 to 10. ‘Four thousand,’ DeVore replied.

“’I wasn’t kidding,’ says DeVore, later. ‘The scapula was nothing compared to this. I mean, I was screaming at the top of my lungs the whole time.’” (Powdermag.com)

After a painful rescue, and intense recovery, Nick recounted each moment of the grueling experience for Powder magazine. Click here to read about his experience, survival and recovery at their website.

Nick wears everything from Jetty Tobacco C12 to Georgia White G12.

She’s always somewhere new. Julia Mancuso had a great competition at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. She took her place on the podium with a 2nd place finish in the super G, her standout performance of the event. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it happen in her other events, falling just short of podium finishes in two other events.

Results
2nd – Super G
5th – Super Combined
6th – Downhill

Julia met up with the Sierra Sun after the competition:

“It’s amazing how different your strategy has to be if the snow changes and it’s amazing how different the course can change,” Mancuso said. “Today it was like frozen spring skiing as opposed to the ice we had in the first training run. The surface is actually really good.

“My game plan was just to take risks and make sure to not give myself any room for mistakes. I executed the second half of the course, but unfortunately I’m not sure where the time went on the top part.”

Julia wore Burnet Havana G12 around the event.

“I really like Cortina, so it’s always nice to be on the podium,” said Kaenon Polarized athlete Julia Mancuso in an interview with the Sierra Sun. “I like it because it’s fast the whole way down, especially this year with really good snow conditions.”

The New Year has been nothing but success for Julia, who wears Zaza, and her performance at the Audi FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy was no different. After finishing second in the women’s downhill and fourth in the women’s super G, we eagerly look forward to following Julia through a year of charging and championships.

Julia Mancuso seems to have made the famed Birds of Prey Olympic run one of her favorite places to compete. Favoring Kaenon sunglass styles Leila, Delite, Joss and Burny, Julia recently kicked off the season in Canada with new skis, new speeds and an inner inspiration. Taking fourth and sixth in her first and second downhill, respectively at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski Women’s World Cup and winning bronze in her first podium appearance for the Super G event, Julia is racing towards a great season ahead.

“I just went out of the gate charging. I was psyched to be on the podium,” said Mancuso in an interview with RealVail. “It’s nice to have been skiing really well and consistent in the downhill, so to finish it off with a third place and my best super G result there is refreshing. I’m excited and I think it will just get better through the season.”

Over the course of the three disciplines on Friday and Saturday, Julia kept us updated on her progress on Facebook. Check out her energetic updates from the slopes:

“Captured in my favorite moment… getting ready to leave the gate! skiing fast here in Lake Louise, won the training today:) one more day til race day!”

“Yay! 1st downhill done! 4th place finish! Excited for another chance tomorrow ‎6th today. my best two downhill combo for Lake Louise. I am very excited about my new völkls!”

Kasha Rigby is an extreme telemarker and explorer whom has traveled far and wide across the globe in pursuit of first descents and fresh powder. She has a multitude of first ski descents on multiple continents under her belt, including Kuitan, the highest peak in Mongolia and RFHP, a 2500m couloir in the Himachal Pradesh region of India; as well as skiied the Cotopaxi (5897m) and Chimborazo (6310m) Volcanoes of Ecuador, also known as the world’s highest active volcanoes!

She was also featured in Warren Miller’s film “Extreme Winter” in 2001 and was called by Outside Magazine “the best female telemark skier in the known universe.” Her most recent appearance on film is in the movie “The Edge of Never” which is now available on DVD.

When Kasha is braving some of the most extreme conditions in the world, she wears Porter G12 and Zaza. To learn more about Kasha’s latest whereabouts, visit her website: http://www.kasharigby.com

Jessica McMillan wearing Georgia Olive Crystal G12, finished 2nd at the extreme skiing event in Verbier, Switzerland giving her a 2nd place overall, for the season.

Julia Mancuso who wears Joss placed third and talks about the experience here.

And the beat goes on! Last weekend in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Julia Mancuso continued her podium resurgence at the first post-Olympics World Cup event, with a Bronze Medal run in the Women’s Super G. She ran Delite Tortoise G12 and Leila Black Opal G12 celebrating her bronze medal in Crans Montana, Switzerland.

Last week, right after the closing ceremonies Sunday and before heading off to Switzerland on Tuesday, Julia made a quick media tour through LA. She appeared on the George Lopez Show where she hammed it up with the comedian and even sang on stage! Check out her karaoke skills here:

WINTER OLYMPICS

Julia Mancuso and fellow medalists and members of the U.S. Ski Team, Andrew Weibrecht, Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller.

Switching between various styles of Kaenon’s women’s sunglasses Julia Mancuso has been seen in Joss Black G12 lens, Calais Tortoise C12 lens and Leila Black Opal G12.

WINTER OLYMPICS

Share the dream – watch Julia Mancuso in her final 2010 Olympic event Wednesday February 24th. Julia has won three Olympic Medals thus far, the most ever for any female American alpine skier (Gold in Women’s Giant Slalom 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy; Silver in Women’s Downhill and Silver in Women’s Super-Combined in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada). As a fan of Kaenon’s line of women’s sunglasses Julia Mancuso has been seen in Joss Black G12 lens, Calais Tortoise C12 and Leila Black Opal G12 which she’s been wearing around the slopes in Whistler the past few weeks.

In this Visa commercial, Julia Mancuso gets a special message from Morgan Freeman who narrates the early visions of Julia’s quest for Olympic achievement. The commercial was inspired by a poster Julia drew herself when she was 12 years old. The poster still hangs in the locker room of her stomping grounds to this day.

Earlier today, Julia Mancuso shared with Ellen DeGeneres and audience her path on becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist. Here she talks about the balance of athleticism and media and the importance of staying focused on her skiing, despite the ebbs and flows of publicity and media attention.

ALPINE SKIING

Julia Mancuso is known for her sparkly personality and now as the most decorated Olympic American female alpine skier, with three Olympic Medals to her name (1-Gold, 2-Silver). Whether surfing in Maui, racing down the slopes in Vancouver, climbing mountains or simply having fun, Julia Mancuso keeps it all in perspective.

Julia Mancuso in Calais.

Julia in Delite above and below.

Julia in Joss.

WINTER OLYMPICS: VANCOUVER 2010

Julia Mancuso Now Two-for-Two in Two Days!
Takes Another Silver in Today’s Super Combined

Let’s see…two days, two Olympic Women’s Alpine events, two Silver Medals! Kaenon Polarized Team Rider Julia Mancuso is proving to the world she’s no one-win-wonder, claiming her second Silver Medal in as many days in the grueling Super Combined event today at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. In the first half of the event – the Downhill – Julia led off early with a time of 1:24.96. US teammate and yesterday’s Downhill Gold medalist Lindsey Vonn edged her out by 0.8 seconds, and German skier Maria Raush also posted a slightly faster time, pushing Julia into the third slot halfway through.

Just a few hours later in the Slalom half of the competition, Julia ripped it up again, giving her a combined time of 2:10:08. Her consistent skiing across the two different courses put her back on the podium on the Silver medal stand. Maria Raush won Gold while Vonn crashed out in the slalom. Only Julia Mancuso now has a chance to medal in every Women’s Alpine event in this Winter Olympic Games.

Today’s medal landed Julia in very fine company, making her only the fifth American woman to win two alpine skiing medals in the same Olympic Winter Games – a feat that hasn’t happened since 1964.

Mancuso races on Saturday in the Super G, and Wednesday of next week in the Giant Slalom, the event where she won Gold in the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.

Julia Mancuso, wears an assortment of Kaenon’s women’s sunglasses representing sports, lifetsyle and luxury performance styles such as Calais, Burnet, Georgia, Zaza, Leila and Joss.

Don’t party yet, Jules … rest up, we think you’ll be the first American woman to go four-for-four!

Congratulations to Julia Mancuso who is now the most decorated female American Olympic Alpine Skier with 3 Medals!

WINTER OLYMPICS: VANCOUVER 2010

Kaenon Polarized is thrilled to share that Olympic skier Julia Mancuso just this morning claimed her second consecutive Olympic medal in the Women’s Downhill in Whistler, British Columbia. Taking the silver Wednesday, she won the gold medal for giant slalom in the 2006 Torino Games.

Sporting Black Opal Leila’s by Kaenon Polarized in the Winner’s Circle, it was a tense 15 minutes or so for Julia Mancuso Wednesday in Vancouver during the much anticipated Women’s Downhill after she posted the fastest time of the day. While TV camera’s focused on her jubilation after her run, Julia slid on her Leila’s and had to wait, skier, after skier to see if her time would stick.

Leading the field from early on with a blazing time of 1:44.75, Julia set the early pace. She held the lead until US teammate and childhood rival Lindsey Vonn, the 16th skier down the hill, put up a time of 1:44.19.

The Americans held a clearly dominant position in a race characterized by several crashes — including one to Swedish standout Anja Paerson

Mancuso’s finish of just 0.56 seconds behind the heavily favored Vonn proved that she is still very much a force to be reckoned with on the snow – especially when it counts. Elisabeth Goergl of Austria took the bronze medal, 1.46 seconds back.

It’s the third time two Americans have finished 1-2 in an Olympic Alpine race, and the first time in 26 years.

Many heartfelt congratulations to Julia and the US Ski Team!

Julia Mancuso wears an assortment of Kaenon’s women’s sunglasses representing sports, lifetsyle and luxury performance styles such as Calais, Burnet, Georgia, Zaza, Leila and as shown above, Joss.

As written in the Associated Press wrap up story, “At the finish, Mancuso knew right away she had done something special and let out a big scream of delight, pumped her right fist and showed a big smile. Then she put on a pair of black sunglasses (Leila Black G12) and waited for the favorites to come down.”

Many heartfelt congratulations to Julia and the US Ski Team!

PERFORMANCE TRAINING

Julia Mancuso is known for her playful personality and intense skill. Check out how she effortlessly blends both attributes in this video on her training routine.

Julia Mancuso wears Calais, Burnet, Georgia, Zaza and Leila women’s sunglasses.

ALPINE SKIING

Gold Medalist Julia Mancuso spent her final pre-2010 Olympics weekend at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe, California, training and enjoying the festivities in her honor. After skiing with the local ski team kids–aka the “Mighty Mights”–she was hosted at a send off reception at Le Chamois.

Mancuso is the only female American Alpine skier with an Olympic medal to her credit, the gold in the giant slalom won four years ago in the Italian village of Sestriere.

Julia is in shape and ready for Vancouver and hopes are high for her success across the globe.

“Anything is possible, and I know that, even if other people don’t.”

FREE SKIING – EUROPE
Julia Mancuso wearing Calais Tortoise C12 free climbing one of Europe’s Glaciers.

Taking her assortment of Kaenon’s women’s sunglasses along for the ride, Julia spends the off season mountain biking, surfing, stand up paddling, hiking and wake surfing as seen in this video

Here’s an update from her blog posted June 17, 2009 -

“Its been a crazy few weeks, with lots of friends and teammates in town! I guess the word is out that Maui is the place to be!!! Keely Kelleher, Megan McJames, and Hailey Duke were cruising around Maui causing trouble only as skiers can! Also my coach Chris, and dryland coach Ernie came by to check out our setup here.

There is just so much to explore even close to home. We took a little trip to Lanai the other day, which is Maui’s neighboring island, and we felt worlds away. It was so peaceful and the water was so clear and blue! Its so easy too: Just hop on the ferry and you’re there in 45 minutes!

We brought our Stand-up paddle boards and cruised around, though we were hoping for some surf, i guess the swell didn’t hit yet! Anyway it was fun fun fun! Enjoy some of my favorite pictures.”

- Jules