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.

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.

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. 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.

Season standings

Season titles

Race victories

• 18 wins - (9 GS, 9 SL)
• 45 podiums

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

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

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