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Penny Pitou
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Penny Pitou (8 Oct. 1938-) is a former United States Olympic Alpine Skier, who in 1960 became the first American skier to win a medal in the Olympic Downhill event.
Penny Pitou moved with her family from New York to Center Harbor, New Hampshire at the age of three. There she began skiing on a hill in her backyard, later progressing to the nearby Gilford Outing Club and Belknap Mountain (now Gunstock) ski areas. An early attempt to compete on the boys' ski team at Laconia High School was foiled when her ski cap flew off in a fall, revealing a cascade of blond hair.
Her ski career continued apace however, and at the age of seventeen she was first selected for the U.S. Olympics Ski Team. Her self-described Olympic mentor, 1952 double-medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence, encouraged Penny to continue working on her skiing after a disappointing performance in the 1956 Games in Italy. Her perseverance paid off in 1960, when Pitou won silver medals for second place in both the Downhill and Giant Slalom events at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.
After her competitive career ended, Pitou married Austrian Olympic gold-medalist skier Egon Zimmerman. The couple settled in New Hampshire. Pitou continues to be active in the ski community, and runs a travel company through which she leads ski groups to various European resorts. She was inducted into the New England Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
- Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader N.E. Women's Sports Hall of Fame