Nisha Rathode (Editor)

Tamara McKinney

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Website
  
tamaramckinney.com

Height
  
1.63 m

Name
  
Tamara McKinney

Medals
  
0

Teams
  
3 - (1980, 1984, 1988)


Tamara McKinney wwwgirlreportercomwpcontentuploads201305T

Disciplines
  
Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined, Super G, Downhill

Born
  
October 16, 1962 (age 61) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. (
1962-10-16
)

World Cup debut
  
December 10, 1978 (age 16)

Retired
  
November 27, 1990 (age 28)

Similar People
  
Phil Mahre, Steve McKinney, Christin Cooper, Vreni Schneider, Michaela Dorfmeister

Tamara mckinney


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.

Contents

Tamara McKinney Tamara McKinney AlpineStyle56

Life and career

Tamara McKinney Tamara McKinney 9 Mikaela Shiffrin 7 AlpineStyle56

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.

Tamara McKinney Meet Tamara Tamara McKinney

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.

Tamara McKinney Tamara McKinney Named Legend of Honor at 2013 American Ski

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. Slow to recover, she announced her retirement in November 1990 at age 28 and completed her career with 18 World Cup victories, 45 podiums, and 99 top ten finishes. 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.

Race victories

  • 18 wins - (9 GS, 9 SL)
  • 45 podiums
  • World championship results

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

    Video

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

    Tamara McKinney Wikipedia