In the World Cup she celebrated six World Cup victories: three in the downhill and one each in the combination , in the giant slalom and in the super-G . Nelson was most successful in the downhill, not less than 16 podiums she achieved during her career. She achieved her first World Cup points on January 5th, 1974 with rank 6 in the downhill in Pfronten. Just a week later (on January 13, 1974) she delivered her first victory, distancing the big favorite Annemarie Pröll by 0.07 s; She was not only the first ever winner of a World Cup downhill run for the US Association (after 11 slalom and 4 giant slalom successes), but also achieved the first ever podium for a US runner in a downhill run. At her first World Championship in St. Moritz, she couldn't cope with the track and finished in 18th place, 4.53 seconds behind winner Pröll.
United States
