Tamara McKinney

Tamara McKinney
— Alpine skier —
Disciplines Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined
Born (1962-10-16) October 16, 1962
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
World Cup debut December 10, 1978 (age 16)
Retired November 27, 1990 (age 28)[1]
Website tamaramckinney.com
Olympics
Teams 3 - (1980, 1984, 1988)
Medals 0
World Championships
Teams 5 - (1980–89)
Medals 4 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons 11 - (1979–89)
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 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 only American woman to hold that title for a quarter century, until Lindsey Vonn in 2008. 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. Her half-brother Steve McKinney was a record holding speed skier.

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.[2][3]

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 11 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 also had 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.

While training for the upcoming 1990 season, McKinney broke her left leg (for the third time) in Saas Fee, Switzerland, in mid-October 1989.[4] 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.[5] 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, and Lindsey Vonn, 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, and is a realtor in the Lake Tahoe area.

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 1not
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
1981Giant Slalom
1983Overall
Giant Slalom
1984Slalom

Race victories

Season Date Location Race
1981 20 Jan 1981  Switzerland  Haute-Nendaz, Switzerland Giant Slalom
24 Jan 1981 France Les Gets, France Giant Slalom
8 Mar 1981 United States Aspen, CO, USA Giant Slalom
1983 5 Dec 1982 Italy Limone Piemonte, ItalySlalom
9 Jan 1983  Switzerland  Davos, SwitzerlandSlalom
23 Jan 1983 France Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France Giant Slalom
8 Mar 1983 United States Waterville Valley, NH, USA Giant Slalom
9 Mar 1983 Giant Slalom
13 Mar 1983 United States Vail, CO, USAGiant Slalom
20 Mar 1983 Japan Furano, JapanSlalom
1984 10 Mar 1984 United States Waterville Valley, NH, USA Giant Slalom
11 Mar 1984 Slalom
23 Mar 1984 West Germany Zwiesel, West GermanyGiant Slalom
24 Mar 1984 Norway Oslo, NorwaySlalom
1985 5 Jan 1985 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Maribor, YugoslaviaSlalom
16 Mar 1985 United States Waterville Valley, NH, USA Slalom
1987 18 Dec 1986 Italy Courmayeur, ItalySlalom
11 Jan 1987 Austria Mellau, AustriaSlalom

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 DNF — — 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

References

  1. 1 2 "Champion skier retires". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. November 28, 1990. p. 2B.
  2. ↑ Johnson, William Oscar (February 7, 1983). "To her, speed thrills". Sports Illustrated: 40.
  3. ↑ Beech, Mark (March 18, 2002). "Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, Skiers". Sports Illustrated.
  4. ↑ "Tamara McKinney breaks leg, might miss entire World Cup". Deseret News. Associated Press. October 19, 1989. p. D5.
  5. ↑ Ski-db.com - Tamara McKinney - accessed 2010-11-28


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