Debbie Armstrong

Debbie Armstrong

— Alpine skier —
Disciplines	Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined
Born	(1963-12-06) December 6, 1963 Salem, Oregon, U.S.
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
World Cup debut	December 8, 1982 (age 19)
Retired	March 1988 (age 24)
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 - (20th in 1985)
Discipline titles	0 - (12th in GS, 1984)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing the United States Olympic Games 1984 Sarajevo Giant Slalom

Deborah Rae "Debbie" Armstrong (born December 6, 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Seattle, Washington. 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.

Racing career

Born in Salem, Oregon, Armstrong grew up in Seattle and was a multi-sport athlete at Garfield High School; in addition to ski racing, she also played 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.

World Cup top tens

Season	Date	Location	Race	Place
1983	15 Dec 1982	San Sicario, Italy	Slalom	7th
	29 Jan 1983	Les Diablerets, Switzerland	Downhill	5th
1984	08 Jan 1984	Puy St. Vincent, France	Super G	3rd
	29 Jan 1984	St. Gervais, France	Combined	6th
	29 Jan 1984		Giant Slalom	5th
	1984 Winter Olympics
	21 Mar 1984	Zwiesel, West Germany	Giant Slalom	9th
1985	15 Dec 1984	Madonna di Campiglio, Italy	Giant Slalom	5th
	17 Dec 1984	Santa Caterina, Italy	Giant Slalom	4th
	09 Jan 1985		Combined	8th
	1985 World Championships
	09 Mar 1985	Banff, AB, Canada	Downhill	8th
	10 Mar 1985		Super G	7th
	17 Mar 1985	Waterville Valley, NH, USA	Giant Slalom	10th
1986	07 Dec 1985	Sestriere, Italy	Super G	4th
	12 Dec 1985	Val d'Isère, France	Downhill	5th
	13 Dec 1985		Downhill	7th
	06 Jan 1986	Maribor, Yugoslavia	Combined	6th
1987	12 Dec 1986	Val d'Isère, France	Downhill	6th
	13 Dec 1986		Downhill	4th
	1987 World Championships

Post-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.

External links

• Debbie Armstrong at the International Ski Federation
• FIS-ski.com - World Cup season standings - Debbie Armstrong - 1983-88
• Ski-db.com - results - Debbie Armstrong
• Sports Reference.com - Olympic results - Debbie Armstrong
• 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