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

Alpine skier
Disciplines	Downhill, Super-G, Giant slalom, Slalom, Combined
Born	(1959-10-08) October 8, 1959 Los Angeles, CA, U.S.
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
World Cup debut	January 19, 1977 (age 17)
Retired	March 1984 (age 24)
Olympics
Teams	2 – (1980, 1984)
Medals	1 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams	3 – (1978, 1980, 1982)
Medals	3 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	8 – (1977-1984)
Wins	5 – (1 GS, 2 SL, 2 K)
Podiums	26 – (1 SG, 10 GS, 9 SL, 6 K)
Overall titles	0 – (3rd in 1982)
Discipline titles	0 – (2nd GS '84, SL '81)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1984 Sarajevo Giant Slalom World Championships 1982 Haus im Ennstal Giant Slalom 1982 Haus im Ennstal Slalom 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.

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 year, 1981, 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.[7] 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 65 top tens.[8]

World Cup results

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1977	17	35	18	25	not run	—	—
1978	18	18	7	20		—	—
1979	19	21	16	—		42	—
1980	20	18	21	11		—	—
1981	21	4	2	7		42	11
1982	22	3	3	5		21	9
1983	23	12	16	12	not awarded	—	5
1984	24	6	9	2		29	6

Race podiums

• 5 victories - (1 GS, 2 SL, 2 K)
• 26 podiums - (1 SG, 10 GS, 9 SL, 6 K)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Place
1981	21 Jan 1981	Crans-Montana, Switzerland	Slalom	2nd
			Combined	3rd
	31 Jan 1981	Les Diablerets, Switzerland	Slalom	2nd
	03 Feb 1981	Zwiesel, West Germany	Slalom	3rd
	08 Feb 1981		Combined	3rd
	13 Mar 1981	Furano, Japan	Giant Slalom	3rd
	15 Mar 1981		Slalom	2nd
	25 Mar 1981	Wangs-Pizol, Switzerland	Giant Slalom	2nd
1982	21 Dec 1981	Saint-Gervais, France	Combined	1st
	23 Jan 1982	Berchtesgaden, West Germany	Slalom	1st
	1982 World Championships
	9 Feb 1982	Oberstaufen, West Germany	Giant Slalom	2nd
	21 Mar 1982	Alpe d'Huez, France	Giant Slalom	3rd
	25 Mar 1982	San Sicario, Italy	Giant Slalom	3rd
	27 Mar 1982	Montgenèvre, France	Slalom	1st
1983	17 Dec 1982	Piancavallo, Italy	Slalom	3rd
			Combined	1st
	23 Jan 1983	Saint-Gervais, France	Combined	2nd
1984	14 Dec 1983	Sestriere, Italy	Combined	3rd
	22 Dec 1983	Haus im Ennstal, Austria	Giant Slalom	3rd
	15 Jan 1984	Maribor, Yugoslavia	Slalom	3rd
	23 Jan 1984	Limone Piemonte, Italy	Slalom	3rd
	29 Jan 1984	Saint-Gervais, France	Giant Slalom	2nd
	1984 Winter Olympics
	04 Mar 1984	Mt. Ste. Anne, QC, Canada	Super G	3rd
	07 Mar 1984	Lake Placid, NY, USA	Giant Slalom	1st
	11 Mar 1984	Waterville Valley, NH, USA	Giant Slalom	3rd
	17 Mar 1984	Jasná, Czechoslovakia	Giant Slalom	3rd

World championship results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   Slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
1978	18	DNF2	23	not run	—	—
1980	20	8	7		—	—
1982	22	2	2		—	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-G	Downhill	Combined
1980	20	8	7	not run	—	not run
1984	24	DNF1	2		—

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),[9] are co-founders of Montana Ale Works, a public house and restaurant in Bozeman, Montana.[10]

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.[11][12] 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."[13]

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

• 1984 Winter Olympics - Women's Giant Slalom - 1st run - ABC Sports on YouTube

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. Associated Press. January 20, 1977. p. 39.
5. "Cooper has surgery set". (Spartanburg, SC) Herald. Associated Press. August 11, 1977. p. C-4.
6. "Idaho, Washington skiers on team". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. January 27, 1978. p. 4B.
7. "Cooper's crash rated as one of the best". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. February 23, 1983. p. 4C.
8. Ski-db.com - results - Christin Cooper - accessed 2010-03-05
9. Ski-db.com - Mark Tache - accessed 2010-03-05
10. Montana Ale Works.com Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine - about us - accessed 2011-01-09
11. Dyce, Mike (17 February 2014). "NBC reporter badgers Bode Miller about dead brother till he cries". Fansided. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
12. Sandomir, Richard (17 February 2014). "NBC Pushes Too Far in Bringing Bode Miller to Tears". New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
13. 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.

External links

• Christin Cooper at the International Ski Federation
• Christin Cooper – 1977-84 World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
• Christin Cooper at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
• Christin Cooper at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Sports Illustrated - 1984 Winter Olympics - 20-Feb-1984