Cindy Nelson
| File:Cindy Nelson 1975.jpg Nelson in 1975 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 19, 1955 |
| Occupation | Alpine skier |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | Downhill, giant slalom, slalom, combined, super-G |
| World Cup debut | December 1971 (age 16)[1] |
| Retired | April 1985 (age 29) |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 3 – (1976–84) missed 1972 – hip injury |
| Medals | 1 (0 gold) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 6 – (1974–85) includes 2 Olympics |
| Medals | 3 (0 gold) |
| World Cup | |
| Seasons | 13 – (1972, '74–85) |
| Wins | 6 – (3 DH, 1 SG, 1 GS, 1 K) |
| Podiums | 23 |
| Overall titles | 0 – (4th in 1979) |
| Discipline titles | 0 – (2nd in DH, 1978) |
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Cynthia Lee Nelson (born August 19, 1955) is former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States.
Racing career
[edit | edit source]Born and raised in Lutsen in northeastern Minnesota, Nelson's family ran the local ski area and she was on skis before the age of three. She raced in all five alpine disciplines, with a focus on downhill, and was on the World Cup squad of the U.S. Ski Team at age 16.[1] Nelson won the silver medal in the downhill at the 1982 World Championships[3] and was the bronze medalist in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics.[4][5][6]
During her first World Cup season, she had two top-15 finishes in downhill as the 1972 Winter Olympics neared.[1] She was expected to make the U.S. Olympic team, but dislocated a hip in a downhill at Grindelwald on January 18, two weeks before the games began.[7] She missed those Winter Olympics[8] but competed in 1976, 1980, and 1984.[9] Two years after her hip injury she won her first World Cup race back at Grindelwald in 1974, the first-ever American to gain a World Cup victory in downhill. Nelson's only victory in a World Cup giant slalom was also her only win in North America, in the rain at Whistler, British Columbia.[10] She retired from international competition after the 1985 season with six World Cup wins, 26 podiums, and 123 top ten finishes.
World Cup results
[edit | edit source]Season standings
[edit | edit source]| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 16 | — | — | — | not run |
— | not awarded |
| 1973 | 17 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974 | 18 | 15 | 14 | — | — | ||
| 1975 | 19 | 8 | 28 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1976 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1977 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 10 | not awarded | |
| 1978 | 22 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1979 | 23 | 4 | 26 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1980 | 24 | 10 | 43 | 31 | 4 | 3 | |
| 1981 | 25 | 8 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 7 | |
| 1982 | 26 | 5 | 25 | 7 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1983 | 27 | 7 | 39 | 2 | not awarded (w/ GS) |
25 | 7 |
| 1984 | 28 | 41 | — | 15 | — | — | |
| 1985 | 29 | 48 | — | 22 | 34 | — |
Race victories
[edit | edit source]- 6 wins – (3 DH, 1 SG, 1 GS, 1 K)
- 23 podiums – (15 DH, 1 SG, 4 GS, 1 SL, 1 K)
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | January 13, 1974 | Switzerland Grindelwald, Switzerland | Downhill |
| 1975 | December 21, 1974 | Austria Saalbach, Austria | Downhill |
| March 1, 1975 | Canada Whistler, Canada[10] | Giant slalom | |
| 1976 | January 9, 1976 | Switzerland Hasliberg, Switzerland | Combined |
| 1979 | February 9, 1979 | West Germany Pfronten, West Germany | Downhill |
| 1983 | January 10, 1983 | Switzerland Verbier, Switzerland | Super-G |
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- Nelson also won an unofficial Super-G race on March 23, 1982, a test event in San Sicario, Italy.[11]
World Championship results
[edit | edit source]| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 16 | — | — | not run | — | — |
| 1974 | 18 | 11 | DNF | 18 | — | |
| 1976 | 20 | 13 | 21 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1978 | 22 | 30 | 15 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1980 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1982 | 26 | 16 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1985 | 29 | — | — | 25 | 15 |
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Olympic results
[edit | edit source]| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 16 | — | — | not run | — | not run |
| 1976 | 20 | 13 | 21 | 3 | ||
| 1980 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 7 | ||
| 1984 | 28 | — | 18 | — |
Other
[edit | edit source]In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Nelson's name and picture.[12]
References
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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External links
[edit | edit source]
- Cindy Nelson at the International Ski and Snowboard FederationLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Cindy Nelson World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
- Cindy Nelson at Ski-DB Alpine Ski DatabaseLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Cynthia Nelson at Olympics.comLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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- 1955 births
- Living people
- American female alpine skiers
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing
- Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics
- 20th-century American sportswomen