Kiki Cutter

Christina "Kiki" Cutter (born July 24, 1949) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She was the first American to win a World Cup event, a slalom race in Oslo, Norway, on February 25, 1968.[1] Although Cutter competed on the World Cup circuit for less than three years, her five career victories led the U.S. alpine team for eleven years,[1] surpassed by Phil Mahre in 1979.

Kiki Cutter
Alpine skier
DisciplinesGiant Slalom, Slalom,
Downhill, Combined
ClubBend Skyliners
Born (1949-07-24) July 24, 1949
Bend, Oregon, U.S.
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
World Cup debutMarch 1967 (age 17)
RetiredFebruary 1970 (age 20)
Olympics
Teams1 – (1968)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams2 – (1968, 1970)
includes Olympics
Medals0
World Cup
Seasons3 – (1968–70)
Wins5 – (4 SL, 1 GS)
Podiums12 – (10 SL, 2 GS)
Overall titles0 – (4th in 1969)
Discipline titles0 – (2nd in SL, 1969)

Early years

Born in central Oregon in Bend, Cutter learned to ski and race at Mount Bachelor, known as "Bachelor Butte" until 1983. She was one of six children of Dr. Robert Cutter and Jane Cutter, who relocated to Bend from the Midwest in 1948, and Kiki was the first in the family born in Oregon.[2] Cutter was a junior racer at Mount Bachelor and gained recognition for her abilities;[3] she won the U.S. junior downhill championship in 1967 at age 17.[4]

Racing career

Not originally on the World Cup or Olympic teams in 1968, Cutter, age 18, and Judy Nagel, age 16, were brought over to Europe in January, a few weeks ahead of the Olympics, to compete for berths on the U.S. Olympic team, which they both made.[5][6] Cutter competed with the team at the Grenoble Olympics in 1968 and the World Championships in 1970. In the 1968 games, she placed higher than any American woman and was the only American woman to ski in all three events—slalom, giant slalom, and downhill.[7] Following the Olympic competition, her rise to stardom continued in Norway, with her first World Cup victory at age 18.[8][9] Cutter finished ninth in the overall standings in 1968. With three World Cup wins the next year (giant slalom at Oberstaufen, West Germany,[10] and slalom victories at Mount St. Anne, Quebec, and Waterville Valley, New Hampshire), she finished fourth in the overall standings and second in slalom in 1969.[11] Cutter won her fifth and final World Cup race at St. Gervais, France, in 1970.[12][13] During her brief amateur career, Cutter had five World Cup victories, twelve podiums, and 25 top-10 finishes, all in the technical events, with one victory and two podiums in giant slalom and the rest in slalom.[12] After the 1970 World Championships in mid-February, Cutter retired from international competition at age 20.[14][15] She raced professionally on the Women's Pro Tour in North America for several years.[16]

World Cup results

Season standings
SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
Slalom		Downhill
196818959—
196919426—
197020199——

Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).

Race podiums
  • 5 wins - (4 slalom, 1 giant slalom)
  • 12 podiums - (10 slalom, 2 giant slalom)
Season Date Location Discipline Place
1968 25 Jan 1968 St. Gervais, France Slalom 3rd
24 Feb 1968 Oslo, Norway Giant Slalom 3rd
25 Feb 1968 Slalom 1st
16 Mar 1968 Aspen, USA Slalom 3rd
28 Mar 1968 Rossland, Canada Slalom 3rd
1969 3 Jan 1969 Oberstaufen, West Germany Giant Slalom 1st
7 Jan 1969 Grindelwald, Switzerland Slalom 3rd
16 Jan 1969 Schruns, Austria Slalom 3rd
16 Feb 1969 Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia Slalom 2nd
15 Mar 1969 Mont St. Anne, Canada Slalom 1st
22 Mar 1969 Waterville Valley, USA Slalom 1st
1970 22 Jan 1970 St. Gervais, France Slalom 1st

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
196818DQ121not run17not run

Personal life

From 1971 to 1973, Cutter was married to Bob Beattie, coach of the U.S. Ski Team and later skiing promoter and television commentator.[17][18][19]

Cutter participated in two nationally televised women's Superstars competitions, where she placed third and fourth.[1] She helped create the Kiki Cutter World Cup Ski Racing Scholarship in 1993 to help develop careers for youth ski racers.[1] Cutter appeared in Bausch & Lomb advertisements for Ray-Ban sunglasses in the late 1980s.[20]

She lives in Oregon, in her hometown of Bend, and is the founder, publisher, and president of Bend Living magazine.[2][21]

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References
  1. "Kiki Cutter 1949—Inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame 2000". Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  2. "Kiki Cutter announces the launch of a new Bend magazine". Bend Bugle. February 7, 2003.
  3. Rice, Bill (February 1, 1986). "Unorthodox style enabled Cutter to make world Cup breakthrough". Schenectedy (NY) Gazette. p. 35.
  4. Pauls, Terri (November 27, 1987). "Cutter's trail of success began on Mount Bachelor". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. D-1.
  5. Ward, Bill (January 31, 1968). "Kiki not overly excited about being named to team; Olympics just a race". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. 6. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  6. "Beattie ducks controversy; explains dropping McCoy". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. February 1, 1968. p. 13.
  7. Scherzer, Harmut (January 10, 1969). "Little Kiki Cutter wants to return to Oregon with World Cup". Eugene Register-Guard. UPI. p. 3B.
  8. "Kiki startles sports world with Oslo win". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. February 26, 1968. p. 1.
  9. "Skier Kiki Cutter wins in Norway". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. February 26, 1968. p. 11-part 2.
  10. "Kiki Cutter, Matt capture slalom wins". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. January 4, 1969. p. 9.
  11. Ward, Bill (March 25, 1969). "Kiki finishes fourth in standings". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. 8.
  12. "FIS-Ski - biographie". International Ski Federation. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  13. "Kiki Cutter USA". Alpine Ski Database. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  14. "Kiki retires from international competition". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. UPI. February 16, 1970. p. 6.
  15. Vertrees, Carl (June 27, 1971). "Kiki quits competitive skiing to get out of rut, easy life". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. 8.
  16. "$40,000 'Hang Ten Cup' switched to Hunter Mountain for Jan 16-19". Schenectady (NY) Gazette. January 17, 1975. p. 24.
  17. "Beattie-Cutter". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. Weddings and engagements. September 4, 1971. p. 3.
  18. Anstine, Dennis (June 28, 1972). "Beatties keep skiing alive in June". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. 10.
  19. Martin, Frank W. (February 18, 1980). "Coaching or Kibitzing on the Olympics, Bob Beattie Is America's Indomitable Snowman". People. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  20. "Ray-Ban sunglasses". SKI. (advertisement): 36. February 1989.
  21. Kiki Cutter. "President's Letter". International Ski Federation. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
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