Tamara McKinney
| — Alpine skier — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
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
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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 | 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
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, 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 | ||
| 23 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 | 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
- You Tube.com – 1989 World Championships – gold medal in combined
References
- 1 2 "Champion skier retires". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. November 28, 1990. p. 2B.
- ↑ Johnson, William Oscar (February 7, 1983). "To her, speed thrills". Sports Illustrated: 40.
- ↑ Beech, Mark (March 18, 2002). "Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, Skiers". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ "Tamara McKinney breaks leg, might miss entire World Cup". Deseret News. Associated Press. October 19, 1989. p. D5.
- ↑ Ski-db.com - Tamara McKinney - accessed 2010-11-28
External links
- Tamara McKinney at the International Ski Federation
- FIS-ski.com – Tamara McKinney – World Cup season standings
- Ski-db.com – results – Tamara McKinney
- Tamara McKinney at Sports Reference – Olympic results
- 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