Racing Career
Born in in Salem, Oregon, Armstrong grew up in Seattle and was a multi-sport athlete at Garfield High School; in addition to ski racing, she also played basketball and soccer. After being named to the U.S. Ski Team, she broke a leg and was unable to compete. She finished second in the combined at the 1983 U.S. Nationals, and placed third in a World Cup Super G in early January 1984, five weeks before the Olympics.
At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, she became the first American woman to win a gold medal in skiing since Barbara Cochran won gold 12 years earlier in 1972 at Sapporo. Taking the silver medal behind her at Jahorina was Sun Valley's Christin Cooper. Later in those games, Phil Mahre and Bill Johnson became the first American men to win Olympic gold in alpine skiing, and Steve Mahre took the silver in the men's slalom behind his twin brother. All five alpine medalists from the U.S. were from the Northwest.
At the World Championships, Armstrong placed 4th in the giant slalom in 1985 and 6th in the Super-G in 1987. She finished 13th in the giant slalom at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. She completed her World Cup career with 18 top ten finishes: 7 in the downhill, three in the Super-G, five in the giant slalom, and three in the combined.
Read more about this topic: Debbie Armstrong
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