Bill Johnson (skier)

William Dean ("Bill") Johnson (born March 30, 1960 in Los Angeles, California, is a former ski racer. He was the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing, winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Olympic triumph

Raised in Sandy, Oregon, Johnson was a troubled youth who began competitive skiing on Mt. Hood as a means of harnessing his energy. After a run-in with the law at age 17, the juvenile defendant was given the choice between six months in jail or attending the Mission Ridge ski academy, and he chose the latter. His talent in the downhill eventually landed him a spot on the U.S. Ski Team, although his brash attitude and questionable work ethic caused friction with his teammates and coaches.

In 1984, at age 23, Johnson challenged the long-established European domination of downhill ski racing. After mostly undistinguished finishes, his unexpected victory on January 15, 1984 on the storied Lauberhorn course at Wengen, Switzerland was the first for an American male in World Cup downhill competition.

A month later at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia), the cocky American had promising downhill training runs and boldly predicted his Olympic victory, evoking comparisons to Joe Namath and Muhammad Ali, and irking his European competitors. His gold medal win at Bjelašnica in a time of 1:45.59 edged out silver medalist Peter Müller of Switzerland by 0.27 seconds.
* [http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=28256&raceid=9182 Top 15 finishers] - 1984 Olympic Downhill
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95MOvhflhbs YouTube video] - Bill Johnson's 1984 Olympic downhill run & profile - ABC-TV

Post-Olympic slide

After two more World Cup downhill victories in Aspen and Whistler in March 1984, Johnson was at the top of his sport, with four significant downhill wins in just two months. But his skiing success faded quickly, due in part to his heavy drinking and abrasive, arrogant personality. The following year, repelled by Johnson's outrageous ego, several U.S. Ski Team staff members, including Johnson's ski technician and trainer, left their positions with the team.

Contentious relationships with teammates and coaches led to many altercations which nearly resulted in Johnson being thrown off the team. His best results after 1984 were two 7th place finishes: at Wengen in January 1985 and at Whistler in March 1986, his final World Cup downhill race.

Due to injuries to his left knee and back which required surgery, and more significantly, sagging results, Johnson was left off the U.S. team for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, unable to defend his gold medal. By the end of the decade, he was done as a serious competitor.

Comeback attempt

Johnson's personal life suffered as well, when his 13-month-old son drowned in a hot tub in 1992. At age 40, his marriage ended in divorce, and he was bankrupt and living in his class A motorhome when he mounted an improbable comeback bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The comeback ended abruptly on March 22, 2001, when Johnson crashed horribly during the downhill race of the 2001 U.S. Alpine Championships, held at The Big Mountain near Whitefish, Montana.

Bill Johnson sustained serious injury to the left side of his brain, nearly bit off his tongue, and was comatose for three weeks. He remains brain-damaged and in need of constant care, mostly from his mother. He lives on disability and has become slightly more functional, though his speech and memory are permanently impaired.

Other facts

* Canadian downhill racer Steve Podborski, who finished eighth behind Johnson in the 1984 Olympic downhill, has said of Johnson: "I'm hard pressed to find a nice thing that Bill did for other people, but he never did anything nice for himself either."

* Johnson’s stated personal motto (tattooed on his arm) was “Ski To Die.”
* Bill has 2 sons, named Tyler and Nick

External links

* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_570.htm U.S. Olympic Team.com] - Bill Johnson - profile
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3We3lQcAiSU YouTube video] - Bill Johnson's crash @ The Big Mountain - 22-March-2001.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95MOvhflhbs YouTube video] - Bill Johnson's 1984 Olympic downhill run & profile - ABC-TV - 16-Feb-1984
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3We3lQcAiSU YouTube video] - near wipe-out & victory @ Wengen - 15-Jan-1984
* [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8892/index.htm "Sports Illustrated"] - cover - 27-Feb-1984 - Olympic Downhill Champion
** [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1121786/index.htm They Saved the Best for Last] - by William Oscar Johnson

References

*cite book
author=Jennifer Woodlief
title=Ski to Die : The Bill Johnson Story
location=Cincinnati | publisher=Emmis Books
year=2006
id=ISBN 1-57860-248-3
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089212/ "Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story"] (TV movie)
* [http://outside.away.com/outside/news/200202/200202billjohnson_1.adp Outside Magazine] "End of the Run," by Bill Donahue, February 2002
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/gen/feature?id=1307961 ESPN.com] January 8, 2002
*FIS|S=AL|ID=28256|name=Bill Johnson
* [http://www.ski-db.com/db/profiles/jhnbi.asp Ski-db.com] - results - Bill Johnson
* [http://www.skiersjournal.com/article1920.html SkiersJournal.com] 2005