Hilary Lindh enjoyed a successful 13-year career on the U.S. Ski Team and became one of the best downhill competitors produced by this country.

Born in Juneau, Alaska on May 10, 1969, Hilary Lindh took up skiing from an early age, enjoying both cross-country and alpine forms. At the age of 7, she began to focus on alpine because the Eaglecrest Ski Area had opened on an island off the coast of Alaska’s capital city. She soon was at the top of all competition for her age group. By the time she entered her teens, she needed to make a move in order to stay challenged. That decision took her to Salt Lake City where she enrolled in Rowmark Ski Academy.

At the age of 14, she was named to the U.S. Development Team in time for the 1985 season. The next year, she won the U.S. Downhill title and a week later, the downhill event at the World Junior Championships. Entering her first World Cup race, she finished in the top 15. At the age of 16, she clearly had arrived!

Challenges lay ahead of her. It would take another three years before she would win her second U.S. title. A major breakthrough came in 1992 when she finished second, earning a coveted silver medal at the Olympic Games in Albertville, France. That same year, she won her third U.S. Championship at Winter Park in Colorado. Along the way, she had established a reputation as one of the best downhillers in the world with excellent technique in handling jumps, tuck-in turns and gliding.

In 1994, she won her first World Cup race at Sierra Nevada, Spain. It was the 100th World Cup win for an American alpine skier. The next year, she won the first two World Cup races of the season and eventually finished second to teammate Picabo Street in the overall World Cup standings in the downhill.

In 1996, she was on the podium again, this time at the World Championships with a bronze medal. After considering retirement, she felt she had more to prove. She returned for the 1997 season to win the World title and then claim her fourth and fifth U.S. titles, including one in the Super-G. On March 13th, she quietly announced her retirement.

Her post skiing career has seen her earn a master’s degree in environmental science at the University of British Columbia. She has coached at the Whistle Ski Club and is currently employed by an environmental consulting firm in Whistler. She is married with a new baby daughter.

Hilary Lindh was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 2005.