SKIING
HERITAGE
SKIINSKIINsk
Olympic champion Andrea Mead Lawrence, 76
U.S. Ski Team report
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. (April 2, 2009) - One of America's greatest Olympic
champions,
Andrea Mead Lawrence, passed away Monday at her home near Mammoth Mountain,
Calif. at the age of 76. A three-time Olympian, she played a pivotal
role in establishing the United States as an alpine power against the
traditional Europeans and Scandinavians, winning two gold medals in
the 1952 Olympic Winter Games in Oslo.
She grew up skiing at Vermont's Pico Peak and competed in the 1948 Olympics at just 15. In 1952, she captured both the slalom and giant slalom, following in the footsteps of teammate and double medalist Gretchen Fraser from 1948. She is generally credited as having ushered in the modern era of alpine skiing in the Olympic Winter Games.
"Andrea Mead Lawrence was one of the most respected champions of all time," said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Bill Marolt. "As a teenager, she led by her example of perseverance in never giving up. Nearly a half century later, she remains a distinguished role model for today's athletes."
Lawrence
took slalom gold by winning the second of two runs by a remarkable two
seconds – after she had fallen in the first. Her effort later
earned her recognition by noted Olympic film producer Bud Greenspan
as his number one Winter Olympian. She made it three Olympics in 1956,
finishing fourth, just one spot away from a bronze, in Cortina.
Throughout her life, she has remained one of America's most foremost spokespersons for her sport and the Olympics. She was inducted in the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1958 and was recently nominated by the USSA for consideration for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
International Skiing
History Association
JOURNAL
OF ISHA, THE INTERNATIONAL SKIING HISTORY ASSOCIATION
The
International Skiing History Association is a not-for-profit corporation,
whose mission is to preserve and advance the knowledge of ski history
and to increase public awareness of the sport's heritage.
ISHA,
4582 South Ulster St., Suite 1340, Denver, CO 80237 303-893-0903
Skiing Heritage, 133
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