Christin Cooper

Christin Elizabeth Cooper (born October 10, 1959) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist from the United States.

Christin Cooper
Born (1959-10-08) October 8, 1959
Los Angeles, California
OccupationAlpine skier
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, combined
World Cup debutJanuary 19, 1977 (age 17)
RetiredMarch 1984 (age 24)
Olympics
Teams2 – (1980, 1984)
Medals1 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams3 – (1978, 1980, 1982)
Medals3 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons8 – (1977–1984)
Wins5 – (1 GS, 2 SL, 2 K)
Podiums26 – (1 SG, 10 GS, 9 SL,
         6 K)
Overall titles0 – (3rd in 1982)
Discipline titles0 – (2nd in SL, 1981;
       2nd in GS, 1984)
Medal record
Women's alpine skiing
Representing the
 United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1984 Sarajevo Giant slalom
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1982 Haus im Ennstal Giant slalom
Silver medal – second place 1982 Haus im Ennstal Slalom
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Haus im Ennstal Combined

Early years

Born in Los Angeles, California,[1] she was raised in Ketchum, Idaho, and learned to ski and race at neighboring Sun Valley. Cooper's stepfather was William C. "Bill" Janss (1918–96), owner of the Sun Valley Resort until 1977.

After her father William died of cancer in Los Angeles, her mother Glenn moved the family of five children to Ketchum in the late 1960s. At the request of longtime friends Bill and Anne Janss, owners of Sun Valley, Mrs. Cooper founded the arts center for the resort in 1969. Anne Janss died in an avalanche accident near the resort in early 1973;[2] later that year Glenn Cooper and Bill Janss were married, with a combined family of eight children.[3]

Racing career

As a member of the U.S. Ski Team, Cooper raced on the World Cup circuit from 1977-84. Starting the 1977 season on the "C" team, she made her World Cup debut at age 17 on January 19 and finished 14th in a slalom at Schruns, Austria;[4] a week later she had a tenth-place finish in the slalom at Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Best in the technical events, she raced in all five disciplines, with World Cup podiums in four. She broke her ankle during training in August, prior to the 1978 season.[5] She competed in the slalom at the 1978 World Championships in Garmisch, West Germany,[6] but did not finish. At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid at age twenty, she was eighth in the slalom and seventh in the giant slalom at Whiteface Mountain.[7]

Cooper's best season in international competition was in 1982, when she won three medals (two silvers and a bronze) at the World Championships at Haus im Ennstal, Austria. She also had three World Cup victories and placed third in the 1982 World Cup overall standings. The previous season, she finished fourth in the women's overall and second in slalom.

A downhill training crash in late January at Les Diablerets in Switzerland sidelined her for the remainder of the 1983 season. It resulted in a compression fracture in her left tibia just below the knee and required a bone graft from her hip.[8] Cooper returned to form the following season with five early podiums before the 1984 Winter Olympics, and then won the silver medal in the Olympic giant slalom, 0.40 seconds behind teammate Debbie Armstrong at Jahorina. Soon after, a run at her hometown resort of Sun Valley was named in her honor: the run "Silver Fox" on Seattle Ridge was renamed "Christin's Silver." Nearby on Seattle Ridge is "Gretchen's Gold," a run named after Gretchen Fraser, a gold medalist in the slalom at the 1948 Winter Olympics and a mentor to Cooper.

Cooper retired from international competition following the 1984 season, in which she was the runner-up in the season's giant slalom standings. She completed her racing career at age 24 with five World Cup victories, 26 podiums, and 68 top tens.[9]

World Cup results

Season standings
SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
Slalom		Super GDownhillCombined
197717351825not
run		——
19781818720——
1979192116—42—
198020182111——
1981214274211
198222335219
198323121612not
awarded		—5
198424692296

Race podiums
  • 5 victories - (1 GS, 2 SL, 2 K)
  • 26 podiums - (1 SG, 10 GS, 9 SL, 6 K); 68 top tens
Season Date Location Discipline Place
198121 Jan 1981 Switzerland  Crans-Montana, SwitzerlandSlalom2nd
Combined3rd
31 Jan 1981 Switzerland  Les Diablerets, SwitzerlandSlalom2nd
03 Feb 1981West Germany Zwiesel, West GermanySlalom3rd
08 Feb 1981Combined3rd
13 Mar 1981Japan Furano, JapanGiant slalom3rd
15 Mar 1981Slalom2nd
25 Mar 1981 Switzerland  Wangs-Pizol, SwitzerlandGiant slalom2nd
198221 Dec 1981France Saint-Gervais, FranceCombined1st
23 Jan 1982Germany Berchtesgaden, West GermanySlalom1st
Austria 1982 World Championships
9 Feb 1982Germany Oberstaufen, West GermanyGiant slalom2nd
21 Mar 1982France Alpe d'Huez, FranceGiant slalom3rd
25 Mar 1982Italy San Sicario, ItalyGiant slalom3rd
27 Mar 1982France Montgenèvre, FranceSlalom1st
198317 Dec 1982Italy Piancavallo, ItalySlalom3rd
Combined1st
23 Jan 1983France Saint-Gervais, FranceCombined2nd
198414 Dec 1983Italy Sestriere, ItalyCombined3rd
22 Dec 1983Austria Haus im Ennstal, AustriaGiant slalom3rd
15 Jan 1984Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Maribor, YugoslaviaSlalom3rd
23 Jan 1984Italy Limone Piemonte, ItalySlalom3rd
29 Jan 1984France Saint-Gervais, FranceGiant slalom2nd
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1984 Winter Olympics
04 Mar 1984Canada Mt. Ste. Anne, QC, CanadaSuper-G3rd
07 Mar 1984United States Lake Placid, NY, USAGiant slalom1st
11 Mar 1984United States Waterville Valley, NH, USAGiant slalom3rd
17 Mar 1984Czechoslovakia Jasná, CzechoslovakiaGiant slalom3rd

World championship results
  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 Slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
197818DNF223not run——
19802087——
19822222—3

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-GDownhillCombined
19802087not run—not run
198424DNF12—

Post-racing

Cooper has worked as a television broadcaster for CBS and NBC, covering alpine ski racing, including the 2010 Vancouver games. She teamed with Tim Ryan, a fellow Ketchum resident, during the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. Christin and her husband, former U.S. Ski Team member Mark Taché (of Aspen, CO),[10] are co-founders of Montana Ale Works, a public house and restaurant in Bozeman, Montana.[11]

2014 Winter Olympics

While covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as a reporter on alpine skiing for NBC, Cooper was widely criticized for her interview with Bode Miller after his bronze medal win in the super G at Rosa Khutor. During the post-event interview on February 16, Miller became increasingly emotional. Cooper repeatedly questioned him about his late brother Chelone, who had died the previous April at the age of 29, until Miller broke down in tears and was unable to continue.

For her pressing of the issue, Cooper was accused of badgering Miller.[12][13] Later that evening, Miller tweeted his fans should "be gentle" with Cooper, as it was "not at all her fault," and "she asked the questions every interviewer would have." The following morning on The Today Show, Miller reiterated his support for Cooper, saying, "I have known Christin a long time, and she's a sweetheart of a person. I know she didn't mean to push. I don't think she really anticipated what my reaction was going to be, and I think by the time she realized it, it was too late. I don't blame her at all."[14]

The race and Cooper's interview were aired by NBC in prime time on U.S. television, more than fifteen hours after its midday completion in Russia. The network had ample time to exclude that uncomfortable segment, but chose not to.

Video

References
  1. The Ski Channel Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine - top 50 Olympians - accessed 2010-12-27
  2. "Slide kills skier soon after avalanche check". Modesto Bee. Associated Press. January 23, 1973. p. B-11.
  3. "Idaho's First Lady of Culture". Sun Valley Guide. Winter 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  4. "Lise-Marie wins slalom". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 20, 1977. p. 39.
  5. "Cooper has surgery set". Spartanburg Herald. (South Carolina). Associated Press. August 11, 1977. p. C-4.
  6. "Idaho, Washington skiers on team". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 27, 1978. p. 4B.
  7. Howe, Nicholas (January 1981). "The Courage of Christin". Skiing. p. 123.
  8. "Cooper's crash rated as one of the best". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 23, 1983. p. 4C.
  9. Ski-db.com - results - Christin Cooper - accessed 2010-03-05
  10. Ski-db.com - Mark Tache - accessed 2010-03-05
  11. Montana Ale Works.com Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine - about us - accessed 2011-01-09
  12. Dyce, Mike (17 February 2014). "NBC reporter badgers Bode Miller about dead brother till he cries". Fansided. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  13. Sandomir, Richard (17 February 2014). "NBC Pushes Too Far in Bringing Bode Miller to Tears". New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  14. Stump, Scott (17 February 2014). "Bode Miller on NBC reporter: 'I don't blame her at all' for emotional interview". The Today Show. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
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