Cynthia Lee Nelson (born August 19, 1955) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States.
Career Born and raised in Lutsen in northeastern Minnesota, Nelson's family ran the local ski area. She was on skis before the age of three. She would eventually race in all five alpine disciplines, with a focus on downhill, joining the World Cup squad of the U.S. Ski Team at age 16. In 1971, Nelson burst onto the international ski racing scene. won the silver medal in the downhill at the 1982 World Championships and was the bronze medalist in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics.
During her first World Cup season, she had two top-15 finishes in the downhill as the 1972 Winter Olympics neared. She was expected to make the U.S. Olympic team, but dislocated a hip in a downhill at Grindelwald on January 18, two weeks before the games began. She missed the Winter Olympics but competed in 1976, 1980, and 1984. Two years after her hip injury, she won her first World Cup race at Grindelwald in 1974, the first-ever American to gain a World Cup victory in downhill. Nelson's only victory in a World Cup giant slalom was also her only win in North America, in the rain at Whistler, British Columbia. She retired from international competition after the 1985 season with six World Cup wins, 26 podiums, and 123 top ten finishes.
World Cup Results
Season standings Season Age Overall Slalom Giantslalom Super-G Downhill Combined 1972 16 — — — notrun — notawarded 1973 17 — — — — 1974 18 15 14 — — 1975 19 8 28 6 4 1976 20 8 12 6 7 3 1977 21 19 19 19 10 notawarded 1978 22 5 13 8 2 1979 23 4 26 7 4 1980 24 10 43 31 4 3 1981 25 8 15 12 7 7 1982 26 5 25 7 7 3 1983 27 7 39 2 notawarded(w/ GS) 25 7 1984 28 41 — 15 — — 1985 29 48 — 22 34 —
Race victories 6 wins – (3 DH, 1 SG, 1 GS, 1 K) 23 podiums – (15 DH, 1 SG, 4 GS, 1 SL, 1 K) Season Date Location Discipline 1974 January 13, 1974 Grindelwald, Switzerland Downhill 1975 December 21, 1974 Saalbach, Austria Downhill March 1, 1975 Whistler, Canada Giant slalom 1976 January 9, 1976 Hasliberg, Switzerland Combined 1979 February 9, 1979 Pfronten, West Germany Downhill 1983 January 10, 1983 Verbier, Switzerland Super-G Nelson also won an unofficial Super-G race on March 23, 1982, a test event in San Sicario, Italy.
World Championship results Year Age Slalom Giant slalom Super-G Downhill Combined 1972 16 — — not run — — 1974 18 11 DNF 18 — 1976 20 13 21 3 4 1978 22 30 15 5 6 1980 24 11 13 7 2 1982 26 16 2 4 1985 29 — — 25 15 From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing. At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Olympic results Year Age Slalom Giant slalom Super-G Downhill Combined 1972 16 — — not run — not run 1976 20 13 21 3 1980 24 11 13 7 1984 28 — 18 —
Other In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Nelson's name and picture.
References
External links
Cindy Nelson World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation