Picabo Street

Picabo Street is considered the greatest female power and speed skiier in American history. She first joined the U.S. Ski Team in 1989, at the age of 17. In 1993 she broke through at the World Championships, winning a silver medal in the Alpine combined. In 1994, she won her first World Cup downhill in addition to her Olympic silver medal. Her greatest years were 1995-96. In 1995 she won six World Cup downhills and the overall World Cup downhill title. She repeated the overal downhill title in 1996, winning another two World Cup downhills that year, and added a gold medal in the downhill at the World Championships and won a bronze in the Super-G at the Worlds. She did not win any World Cup races in 1997-98 but surprised by winning the Super-G at the Nagano Olympics. Shortly thereafter she sustained a very serious crash at a race in Switzerland, breaking her left femur and tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. After two years of rehab she returned to the ski circuit and raced again at the 2002 Winter Olympics before retiring. She has since worked as a commercial spokeperson for various companies. Growing up as a skiier in Sun Valley, a run was named after her, with the former “Plaza” run re-named as “Picabo’s Street.” Street was inducted into the US Ski Hall of Fame in 2005.