The Stories of Tamara McKinney

Arc City by Jimmy Krupka

Episode notes

If basketball fans know about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, then ski racing fans absolutely need know about Tamara McKinney: the first American woman to win the World Cup Overall title, and the only, before Lindsey and Mikaela. First, we hear the story of McKinney's gold medal at the 1989 World Championships, a gripping, multifaceted tale full of life, and death. Then we talk about her ’84 Olympic performance that was defined by media hype—and McKinney uses her own experience to comment on that of Olympic champion Simone Biles’. McKinney talks briefly of her family’s move from Maryland to Nevada to pursue skiing and ultimately make the National Team at 14 years old. And finally, we discuss how McKinney is helping make skiing more affordable and accessible to anyone and everyone within a two hundred-mile radius of Reno (

 ...  Read more
Keywords
tamara mckinneymarcel hirscher