The ski slopes are busy and the Winter Olympics are just over the horizon. Soon men and women from all over the world will compete in a variety of skiing events including alpine skiing and ski jumping. The U.S. won its first medals for skiing at the Olympics in 1948. Did you know that the first three U.S. Olympic athletes to get medals for skiing were all women?
Referred to in newspapers as a “skier-housewife,” Gretchen Fraser was an incredible force on the slopes. She surprised everyone in 1948 when she placed first in the women’s slalom, winning a gold medal–the first medal ever for the U.S. in any skiing event. She continued her Olympic streak by also winning a silver medal in the women’s alpine combined. The Evening Star notes that not only were those the first medals for the U.S. in skiing, but “the first Olympic ski medals ever taken to the Western side of the Atlantic.”
Although Fraser announced soon after returning from the 1948 Olympic games that she was retiring from competition, and gave birth to her son less than a year later, she continued coaching for many years. She even became a coach and trainer to the next U.S. Olympic ski medalist, Andrea Mead Lawrence.
Andrea Mead first competed in the Olympics, at just age 15, in the 1948 Olympics with Fraser. Four years later, after she married U.S. Olympic skier David Lawrence, the 19 year old skier was back at the Olympics and ready to compete again. This time, Fraser was at her side as her coach. Her incredible performance that year won her gold medals in both the slalom and the giant slalom.
Lawrence’s win in the slalom is one for the records. She fell partway through the first run and finished fourth. The fall was so quick, Lawrence hardly knew that it happened. “[E]verything happened so fast I don’t remember whether I actually hit the ground,” she said in the Evening Star. “I just knew I had to get back on my feet fast and get through that gate.” She came back in the next run far ahead of her competition and won gold for the event, making it one of the few times in skiing history when a competitor fell, but came back to win a medal. Her win in the slalom was also the first time that any Olympic skier had won gold in more than one event.
The incredible Andrea Mead Lawrence didn’t stop there, though. Over the next four years she went on to have three children, win the national slalom title and national women’s downhill title, and then compete in the 1956 Olympics where she placed fourth in the giant slalom. She later turned her career to environmental activism, working to protect the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After her death in 2009, one of those mountains was officially named for her (Mt. Andrea Lawrence Designation Act of 2011).
The next medalist for U.S. skiing was Penelope “Penny” Pitou in the 1960 Olympics. Pitou missed the gold in the downhill ski race by only one second, winning her a silver medal. She blamed it on a curve that made many of her competitors fall. “It’s a 90-degree turn but you don’t dare slow down. If you do, you lose a heck of a lot of time on the straight stretch below. I started my turn a little too high and slid into the whole thing sideways,” she later said.
These incredible women, who paved the way for future U.S. Olympians, continue to inspire us. We wish our Olympic team all the best this year and hope that you get to enjoy watching some of the skiing and other winter sports. Do you have a favorite winter Olympian? Let us know in the comments.
Additional Resources
- Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
- Mono Lake Committee: Andrea Lawrence Award
- Sun Valley Fun Facts
- International Olympic Committee: Athletes
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Comments (2)
Actually, the first FIVE Americans to win an Olympic alpine skiing medal were women. After the three you have listed, Betsy Snite won silver in the slalom in 1960 and then Jean Saubert won bronze in the slalom and silver in the giant slalom at the 1964 Olympics. (Two American men did win medals in the 1964 Olympics a few days after Saubert won hers – Billy Kidd and Jimmy Heuga won silver and bronze in the slalom.)
Actually there is listed olympic type woman medals.When you talk about olympics, there is 1964 olympics.
request to author for publish more this related info with medals competition for motivation.