Tamara McKinney

Tamara McKinney

Personal information
Born	(1962-10-16) October 16, 1962 (age 62) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation	Alpine skier
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Skiing career
Disciplines	Giant slalom, slalom, combined
World Cup debut	December 1978 (age 16)
Retired	November 1990 (age 28) [1]
Website	tamaramckinney.com
Olympics
Teams	3 – (1980, 1984, 1988)
Medals	0
World Championships
Teams	5 – (1980 – 1989)
Medals	4 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	11 – (1979 – 1989)
Wins	18 – (9 GS, 9 SL)
Podiums	45
Overall titles	1 – (1983)
Discipline titles	3 – (2 GS, 1 SL)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing the   United States World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 9 8 8 Giant slalom 9 3 4 Super-G 0 0 1 Combined 0 2 1 Total 18 13 14 World Championships 1989 Vail Combined 1989 Vail Slalom 1987 Crans-Montana Combined 1985 Bormio Combined

Tamara McKinney (born October 16, 1962) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She won four World Cup season titles, most notably the 1983 overall, the first American woman title holder for a quarter century. McKinney's other three season titles were in giant slalom (1981, 1983) and slalom (1984). She was a world champion in the combined event in 1989, her final year of competition. ^[2]

Her half-brother Steve McKinney was a world-record holding speed skier, setting seven world records and breaking his own record twice.

Life and career

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the diminutive McKinney (5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), 115 lb (52 kg)) grew up in Squaw Valley, California, the youngest of seven children. ^{[3] [4]}

She made her World Cup debut in December 1978 at age 16 with a podium finish in a slalom in Italy. Her first World Cup victory came at age 18 in January 1981, the first of four wins in giant slalom that breakthrough season. McKinney raced on the World Cup circuit for eleven seasons, and competed in three Olympics and five world championships. She won four medals in the world championships; bronze medals in the combined (1985, 1987) and slalom (1989), and a gold medal in the combined at Vail in 1989.

While winning the overall World Cup in 1983 at age 20, she also won the giant slalom title, which she had first won in 1981. In 1984 McKinney won the slalom title, and took fourth place in the giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, behind teammates Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} McKinney participated in Prince Edward Windsor of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament in 1987.

While training for the upcoming 1990 season, McKinney broke her left leg (for the third time) in Saas Fee, Switzerland, in mid-October 1989. ^[9] Slow to recover, she announced her retirement in November 1990 at age 28 ^[1] and completed her career with 18 World Cup victories, 45 podiums, and 99 top ten finishes. ^[10] Eight of her victories were in the U.S., with six at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, which included double victories in 1983 and 1984. Along with Gretchen Fraser, Andrea Mead Lawrence, Lindsey Vonn, and Mikaela Shiffrin, McKinney is regarded as one of the top female alpine ski racers in U.S. history.

She was inducted in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004, was a realtor in the Lake Tahoe area, and is now coaching skiing at the Aspen Valley Ski Club in Aspen, Colorado for Johno McBride.

World Cup results

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1979	16	25	21	13	not run	—	—
1980	17	14	10	24		—	—
1981	18	6	7	1		—	12
1982	19	9	12	4		—	—
1983	20	1	2	1	not awarded (w/ GS)	—	6
1984	21	3	1	3		—	9
1985	22	8	2	11		—	17
1986	23	24	14	20	31	—	28
1987	24	6	2	10	32	—	—
1988	25	54	—	19	—	—	—
1989	26	11	3	13	—	—	8
1990	27	injured in October, missed entire season

Season titles

Season	Discipline
1981	Giant slalom
1983	Overall
	Giant slalom
1984	Slalom

Race victories

• 18 wins - (9 GS, 9 SL)
• 45 podiums

Season	Date	Location	Discipline
1981	20 Jan 1981	Haute-Nendaz, Switzerland	Giant slalom
	24 Jan 1981	Les Gets, France	Giant slalom
8 Mar 1981	Aspen, CO, USA	Giant slalom
1983	5 Dec 1982	Limone Piemonte, Italy	Slalom
	9 Jan 1983	Davos, Switzerland	Slalom
	23 Jan 1983	St. Gervais, France	Giant slalom
	8 Mar 1983	Waterville Valley, NH, USA	Giant slalom
	9 Mar 1983		Giant slalom
	13 Mar 1983	Vail, CO, USA	Giant slalom
	20 Mar 1983	Furano, Japan	Slalom
1984	10 Mar 1984	Waterville Valley, NH, USA	Giant slalom
	11 Mar 1984		Slalom
	21 Mar 1984	Zwiesel, West Germany	Giant slalom
	24 Mar 1984	Oslo, Norway	Slalom
1985	5 Jan 1985	Maribor, Yugoslavia	Slalom
	16 Mar 1985	Waterville Valley, NH, USA	Slalom
1987	18 Dec 1986	Courmayeur, Italy	Slalom
	11 Jan 1987	Mellau, Austria	Slalom

World championship results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
1980	17	DNF1	DNF1	not run	—	—
1982	19	DNF1	6		—	—
1985	22	DNF	DNF		—	3
1987	24	DNF1	18	—	—	3
1989	26	3	DNF	—	—	1

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.

Olympic results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
1980	17	DNF1	DNF1	not run	—	not run
1984	21	DNF1	4		—
1988	25	DNF1	DNF1	—	—	—

Video

• You Tube.com – 1989 World Championships – gold medal in combined

References

1. "Champion skier retires". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 28 November 1990. p. 2B.
2. "Tamara McKinney profile". fis-ski.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
3. Johnson, William Oscar (7 February 1983). "To her, speed thrills". Sports Illustrated. p. 40.
4. Beech, Mark (18 March 2002). "Catching up with: Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, skiers". Sports Illustrated. p. 21.
5. Nelson, John (13 February 1984). "America discovers gold and silver on alpine hills". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. p. D1.
6. "USA strikes gold in Winter Games". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. 14 February 1984. p. 19.
7. "America cheers its first champion". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services reports. 14 February 1984. p. 1D.
8. Johnson, William Oscar (20 February 1984). "'Have fun! Have fun! Have fun!'". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
9. "Tamara McKinney breaks leg, might miss entire World Cup". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. 19 October 1989. p. D5.
10. Ski-db.com - Tamara McKinney - accessed 2010-11-28

External links

• Tamara McKinney at FIS (alpine)
• Tamara McKinney at Olympedia
• Tamara McKinney at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
• Ski World Cup.org - biography - Tamara McKinney
• Sports Illustrated – cover – 1984 Winter Olympics preview
• TIME.com - "For Purple Mountains' Majesty" (March 21, 1983)
• TIME.com - "Their Success Is All in the Family" (January 30, 1984)
• Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (2004)
• tamaramckinney.com - web site - real estate