Kerrin Anne Lee-Gartner (born September 21, 1966) is a former

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medallist from Canada. Born in

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

, British Columbia, she grew up in Rossland and raced as a youngster at Red Mountain. Lee-Gartner started skiing for the Canadian Women's Ski Team in 1982, but suffered a number of knee operations over the years including two complete reconstructions. She attained her first World Cup podium early in December 1990, then had five more top-six finishes early in the 1992 season entering 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 ...

Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...

, France. On the ''Roc de Fer'' course at

Méribel Méribel () is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie department of France, near the town of Moûtiers (), called Méribel Centre, Méribe ...

, Lee-Gartner won the gold medal in the Olympic downhill. Only 0.06 seconds behind was silver medallist

Hilary Lindh Hilary Kirsten Lindh (born May 10, 1969) is an American former alpine ski racer. A specialist in the downhill event, she was a world champion and Olympic medalist. Life Born in Juneau, Alaska, Lindh learned to ski and race at Eaglecrest S ...

of the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, for a North American 1–2 finish. Through

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, it remains the only victory in an Olympic downhill by a Canadian. She finished sixth in the Olympic

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

and had two more podiums after the Olympics, both in North America, to finish up the 1992 season. Lee-Gartner's next season in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

was her best on the World Cup circuit, with two podiums and twelve top tens. She finished third in the downhill standings and ninth overall. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in Japan, she was fourth in the super-G and ninth in the downhill. Leading up to the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

, Lee-Gartner was admittedly affected by the death of her friend

Ulrike Maier Ulrike Maier (22 October 1967 – 29 January 1994) was a World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria, a two-time World Champion in super-G. She competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 Winter Olympics. Born in Rauris, Salzburg, where her ...

after a crash in a downhill race in late January. At the Olympics in Norway, she finished eighth in the

and 19th in the downhill, and retired from international competition a month later, at the end of the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

World Cup season. Lee-Gartner is currently a television broadcaster with

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Sports in Canada. She also assisted the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

with coverage of the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

in Vancouver.

World Cup results

Season standings

Race podiums

* 6 podiums – (4 DH, 2 SG)

World Championship results

Olympic results

Video

CBC interview
– following her Olympic gold medal run, February 1992

Personal

During May 2018, Lee-Gartner was part of a group of four female athletes, including Cassie Campbell, Jen Kish and Fran Rider to publicly pledge their brain to a Canadian research centre. The posthumous donation shall be made to Toronto Western Hospital’s Canadian Concussion Centre to further research on the effect of trauma on women's brains.

References

External links

* * * * *
Kerrin Lee-Gartner
at

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee-Gartner, Kerrin Canadian female alpine skiers Olympic gold medalists for Canada Canadian people of German descent Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Skiing people from British Columbia People from Rossland, British Columbia 1966 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Canada 20th-century Canadian sportswomen