- Debbie Armstrong
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Debbie Armstrong Disciplines Downhill, Super G,
Giant Slalom, Slalom,
CombinedBorn December 6, 1963
Salem, Oregon, United StatesHeight 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) World Cup debut December 8, 1982 (age 19) Retired March 1988 Olympics Teams 2 - (1984, 1988) Medals 1 (1 gold) World Championships Teams 2 - 1985, 1987) Medals 0 World Cup Seasons 6 - (1983-1988) Wins 0 Podiums 1 Overall titles 0 Discipline titles 0 Medal recordWomen's alpine skiing Competitor for the 
United StatesOlympic Games Gold 1984 Sarajevo Giant slalom Deborah Rae ("Debbie") Armstrong (born December 6, 1963 in Salem, Oregon) is a former alpine ski racer from Seattle. She was the first gold medalist from the U.S. in women's alpine skiing in 12 years, winning the giant slalom at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
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Racing career
In addition to ski racing, Armstrong was a multi-sport athlete at Garfield High School in Seattle, playing basketball and soccer. After being named to the U.S. Ski Team, she broke a leg and was unable to compete. She finished second in the combined at the 1983 U.S. Nationals, and placed third in a World Cup Super G in early January 1984, five weeks before the Olympics.
At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, she became the first American woman to win a gold medal in skiing since Barbara Cochran won gold 12 years earlier in 1972 at Sapporo. Taking the silver medal behind her at Jahorina was Sun Valley's Christin Cooper. Later in those games, Phil Mahre and Bill Johnson became the first American men to win Olympic gold in alpine skiing, and Steve Mahre took the silver in the men's slalom behind his twin brother. All five alpine medalists from the U.S. were from the Northwest.
At the World Championships, Armstrong placed 4th in the giant slalom in 1985 and 6th in the Super-G in 1987. She finished 13th in the giant slalom at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. She completed her World Cup career with 18 top ten finishes: 7 in the downhill, three in the Super-G, five in the giant slalom, and three in the combined.[1]
World Cup top tens
Season Date Location Race Place 1983 15 Dec 1982 
San Sicario, ItalySlalom 7th 29 Jan 1983 
Les Diablerets, SwitzerlandDownhill 5th 1984 08 Jan 1984 
Puy St. Vincent, FranceSuper G 3rd 29 Jan 1984 St. Gervais, FranceCombined 6th 29 Jan 1984 St. Gervais, FranceGiant Slalom 5th 
1984 Winter Olympics21 Mar 1984 
Zwiesel, West GermanyGiant Slalom 9th 1985 15 Dec 1984 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalyGiant Slalom 5th 17 Dec 1984 Santa Caterina, ItalyGiant Slalom 4th 09 Jan 1985 Santa Caterina, ItalyCombined 8th 1985 World Championships09 Mar 1985 
Banff, AB, CanadaDownhill 8th 10 Mar 1985 Banff, AB, CanadaSuper G 7th 17 Mar 1985 Waterville Valley, NH, USAGiant Slalom 10th 1986 07 Dec 1985 Sestriere, ItalySuper G 4th 12 Dec 1985 Val d'Isère, FranceDownhill 5th 13 Dec 1985 Val d'Isère, FranceDownhill 7th 06 Jan 1986 Maribor, YugoslaviaCombined 6th 1987 12 Dec 1986 Val d'Isère, FranceDownhill 6th 13 Dec 1986 Val d'Isère, FranceDownhill 4th 1987 World ChampionshipsPost-racing
Since her retirement from competitive skiing following the 1988 World Cup season, Armstrong has led various humanitarian causes, including the Debbie Armstrong Say No to Alcohol and Drugs campaign; the SKIFORALL Foundation, which opens skiing events to the disabled; and Global ReLeaf Sarajevo, which seeks to reforest Sarajevo after the Bosnian war.
Then Debbie served as an enthusiastic ambassador for Taos Ski Valley, giving away free early morning lessons and U.S. Ski Team stickers for fans of the team. Ski Racing magazine reported a few years later that Debbie nearly died as the result of a tick bite she suffered while hiking. Debbie apparently opted for a dangerous procedure that, while it killed the tick, resulted in the release of all of the tick's toxins at once.
Today, she serves as Alpine Competitive Program Director for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, a world-renowned ski club located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Debbie Armstrong developed her racing skills in the 1970s at the Alpental ski area at Snoqualmie Pass, an hour east of Seattle
on I-90. The run "Debbie's Gold" and the "Armstrong's Express" high-speed quad chairlift are named for her.[2]References
- ^ Ski-db.com - Debbie Armstrong - results - accessed 2010-03-11
- ^ Summit at Snoqualmie - trail maps - accessed 2010-03-11
External links
- Debbie Armstrong at the International Ski Federation
- FIS-ski.com - World Cup season standings - Debbie Armstrong - 1983-88
- Sports Illustrated - cover - Debbie Armstrong - 20-Feb-1984
- "Have fun! Have fun! Have fun!" - by William Oscar Johnson
- Hickok Sports.com - bio for Debbie Armstrong
Olympic Champions in Women's Giant Slalom 1952: Andrea Mead-Lawrence | 1956: Ossi Reichert | 1960: Yvonne Rüegg | 1964: Marielle Goitschel | 1968: Nancy Greene | 1972: Marie-Theres Nadig | 1976: Kathy Kreiner | 1980: Hanni Wenzel | 1984: Debbie Armstrong | 1988: Vreni Schneider | 1992: Pernilla Wiberg | 1994: Deborah Compagnoni | 1998: Deborah Compagnoni | 2002: Janica Kostelić | 2006: Julia Mancuso | 2010: Viktoria RebensburgCategories:- American alpine skiers
- Olympic alpine skiers of the United States
- Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- People from Salem, Oregon
- People from Seattle, Washington
- 1963 births
- Living people
- Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
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