Penny Pitou

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Penelope "Penny" Pitou (born October 8, 1938 in New York ) is a former American ski racer . With two silver medals, she was one of the stars of the alpine competitions at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley .

Pitou grew up in the winter sports resort Laconia ( New Hampshire ). She qualified for the first time in 1956 at the age of 17 for the US Olympic team. At the winter games in Cortina d'Ampezzo could not prevail against the much more experienced competition. She finished 34th in giant slalom, 31st in slalom and 34th in downhill.

Four years later, it entered the annals of the Winter Games. In Squaw Valley, she won the silver medal in giant slalom and downhill. This made her the only ski racer in the Games to win two medals. The downhill run on February 20, 1960 was particularly exciting. After the favored Pitou topped the rankings with the fastest time, she was celebrated as the new Olympic champion in the finish area. But she was caught by Heidi Biebl , who started immediately after her and was not necessarily one of the favorites . A year earlier, Pitou had won the downhill and the combined SDS races in Grindelwald .

Pitou was married to the Austrian ski racer Egon Zimmermann for several years . Today she has been organizing ski tours in the Alps for over 30 years.

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personal data
SURNAME Pitou, penny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pitou, Penelope
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , United States