Tamara McKinney
Tamara McKinney 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 last American woman title holder for a quarter century, until Lindsey Vonn in 2008. McKinney's other three season titles were in giant slalom and slalom. 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.
Life and career
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the diminutive McKinney 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 eleven seasons, and competed in three Olympics and five world championships. She won four medals in the world championships; bronze medals in the combined and slalom, 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 had first 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 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, Lindsey Vonn, and Mikaela Shiffrin, 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.
World Cup results
Season standings
Season titles
Race victories
- 18 wins -
- 45 podiums
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
| 1981 | 20 Jan 1981 |  Haute-Nendaz, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 24 Jan 1981 |  Les Gets, France | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 8 Mar 1981 |  Aspen, CO, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 5 Dec 1982 |  Limone Piemonte, Italy | Slalom |
| 1983 | 9 Jan 1983 | Davos, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 1983 | 23 Jan 1983 | St. Gervais, France | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 8 Mar 1983 | Waterville Valley, NH, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 9 Mar 1983 | Waterville Valley, NH, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 13 Mar 1983 | Vail, CO, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 20 Mar 1983 |  Furano, Japan | Slalom |
| 1984 | 10 Mar 1984 | Waterville Valley, NH, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1984 | 11 Mar 1984 | Waterville Valley, NH, USA | Slalom |
| 1984 | 21 Mar 1984 |  Zwiesel, West Germany | Giant slalom |
| 1984 | 24 Mar 1984 |  Oslo, Norway | Slalom |
| 1985 | 5 Jan 1985 |  Maribor, Yugoslavia | Slalom |
| 1985 | 16 Mar 1985 | Waterville Valley, NH, USA | Slalom |
| 1987 | 18 Dec 1986 | Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom |
| 1987 | 11 Jan 1987 |  Mellau, Austria | Slalom |
World championship results
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.Olympic results 50px">File:Olympic rings.svg">50px
Video
- – 1989 World Championships – gold medal in combined