Gretchen Kunigk Fraser (February 11, 1919 – February 17, 1994) was an American alpine ski racer and nurse. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing, as well as the first American to win an Olympic silver medal in skiing. She was also the first American to be awarded the Pery Medal by the ski club of Great Britain, and National Ski Association's Beck International Trophy. She was also the skiing

stand-in A stand-in, sometimes a lighting double, for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and tele ...

for ice skater

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

in the movies '' Thin Ice'' (1937) and '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Fraser was revered in her time for her contributions to American athletics, receiving ticker-tape parades and brand sponsorships upon her return to the United States following her Olympic win.

Background

Born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, Gretchen Kunigk was the daughter of German and Norwegian immigrants, Willibald and Clara Kunigk. Her Norwegian-born mother was a skier and Gretchen first skied at age 13, at Paradise Valley on the south slopes of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

in December 1932. Under the tutelage of Otto Lang, she became a proficient ski racer. Gretchen served as president of the Ski Club at Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington and later competed on the ski team at the University of Puget Sound. As a member of the ski team, she won several competitions on Mount Rainier.

Athletic career

In 1938, she traveled to

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1,783 at the 2020 census. The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is above se ...

to compete in the second Harriman Cup, a new international event featuring the best racers in the world. Both Gretchen and her husband, Donald, were members of the 1940 Olympic team, games that were cancelled due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She spent the war years skiing in Otto Lang's military training films for the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

and helping to rehabilitate wounded and disabled veterans through skiing, setting the stage for her lifelong commitment to working with disabled skiers (see Nursing Career section below). Fraser competed in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. A week before her 29th birthday, Fraser won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the slalom and a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the combined event in

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. She returned home to a ticker-tape parade in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and grand receptions in Tacoma, Washington,

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, and

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Fraser was the guest of honor for the 1948 Daffodil Parade in Tacoma, Washington. She retired from competition soon after the 1948 Olympics and became an ambassador for Sun Valley and skiing. However, she returned to the skiing world as the coach of the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

US Women's Olympic team. Later in life she was a mentor to aspiring female ski racers at Sun Valley, including Olympians Susie Corrock, Christin Cooper, Picabo Street, two-time gold medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence, and Paralympian Muffy Davis. Fraser's husband, Don, was a pilot, which inspired her to begin flying. She began flying before the Olympics but officially became a private pilot in 1958. She later met pilot

Chuck Yeager Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in his ...

and co-piloted jets with him. She was inducted into the

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

chapter of The Ninety-Nines, Inc., an association for women pilots.

Gretchen's First Place Wins

1937

* Pacific Northwest Championships (PNW), Spokane, WA * PNW Downhill, Mt. Hood, OR * PW Combined, Mt. Hood, OR

1938

* Open Slalom, Mt. Rainier, WA * Silver Skies, Mt. Rainier, WA * Golden Rose Downhill, Mt Hood, OR

1939

* PNSA Championships, Yakima, WA * Jeffers Cup, Sun Valley, ID * Alta Snow Cup, Alta, UT

1940

* Silver Belt, Sugar Bowl, CA * Downhill, US Nationals, Aspen, CO * Combined, US Nationals, Aspen, CO

1941

* Downhill, Harriman Cup, Sun Valley, ID * Combined, Harriman Cup, Sun Valley, ID * Slalom, US Nationals, Yosemite, CA

1942

* Snow Cup, Alta, UT * Jeffers Cup, Sun Valley, ID ____________ ''World War II'' ____________

1946

* Downhill, Golden Rose, Mt. Hood, OR * PNSA Amateur Championships, Stevens Pass, WA * Downhill, Slalom, Combined Championships, Mt. Hood, OR

1947

* Downhill, Olympic Tryouts, Sun Valley, ID * Combined, Olympic Tryouts, Sun Valley, ID * Golden Rose, Mt. Hood, OR ''Sources for the above wins from Gretchen's Gold, pages 171-172.'' *At the time of these wins, Gretchen only competed in the United States. After Gretchen's two Olympic medal events, Europeans began inviting Americans to compete in European competitions. Gretchen was the inspiration for Europe to include American competitors in their events.

Nursing career

After the Olympics, Fraser resumed her work with the disabled community that had begun during WWII. A lifelong equestrian, she taught horseback riding and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

in a rehabilitation clinic at Madigan Army Medical Center (then Madigan Convalescent Hospital) in Fort Lewis, Washington. She was a founding member of the Oregon Institute for Rehabilitation in Portland, which started as a small clinic with volunteers from the Junior League. She served on the board for 27 years (Gretchen's Gold 113–14). In addition to working at Madigan, Fraser worked at the United States Naval Special Hospital in Sun Valley and Burrell Hospital in Brighten, Utah. During WWII, Gretchen implemented the first application of the

Outrigger An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts he ...

Ski System so the amputee veterans at the Sun Valley hospital could learn to ski. About fifteen years later, she helped to organize the Flying Outriggers Ski Club at Mt. Hood, Oregon, which was the first adaptive ski club in America. The outrigger ski system has been adapted throughout the world. Fraser's work with paralympians in Sun Valley led to her earning the National Paralympic Coach of the Year award in 1984.

Personal life

She met 1936 Olympian and Northwest ski champion Donald Fraser (1913–1994) of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

on the train trip to central Idaho. They were married in November 1939 in Tacoma and Sun Valley became their home. After the war, the Frasers moved to

. They had one son, Donald Fraser Jr. Fraser was involved in the formation of the American Athletic Academy, assisting athletes with education and career counseling.

Appearance in comic books

Gretchen Fraser was featured in two cartoons created by Wheaties cereal to promote their brand. These advertisements were showcased in various comic books.

Death

Fraser died at age 75 in February 1994, during the

; her husband of 54 years, Don Fraser, had died a month earlier. They are buried at the city

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

in Ketchum, Idaho.

Legacy

*Fraser was inducted into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame in 1957. *Fraser was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1960 and the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame in Park City in the inaugural class of 2002. *In 1960, she was inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Puget Sound Hall of Fame. *Fraser was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1987. *Fraser was inducted into the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013 with her husband, Don Fraser. *In 2020, Governor of Idaho

Brad Little Bradley Jay Little (born February 15, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Idaho ...

recommended Fraser in response to the Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

. *She was inducted into the Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022, in the "Legend" category. *On December 12, 2023, she was inducted into Stadium High School Wall of Recognition in Tacoma, Washington. *Gretchen's Gold, a ski run at Sun Valley's Seattle Ridge is named for her, as well as Gretchen's Restaurant in the Sun Valley Lodge. *Gretchen Fraser Neighborhood park in Vancouver, Washington, is named for her. Several Pacific Northwest museums honor Fraser's importance in the skiing world, including the Alf Engen Ski Museum (Park City, Utah), Wood River Museum (Ketchum, Idaho), Tacoma History Museum (Tacoma, WA), Washington State Ski and Snowboard Museum ( Snoqualmie Pass, Washington), the Νorthwest Room at the Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma, Washington), and the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Museum (Tacoma, Washington).

References

Other sources

* Allen, E. John B. (2011
''Historical Dictionary of Skiing''
(Historical Dictionaries of Sports) * * Pfeifer, Luanne (1994) "The One and Only Gretchen
Skiing Heritage Journal Vol. 6, No. 2