Edith Thys
Heading into the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, most of the U.S. Women's alpine team fortunes rested in--or had only recently left--a hospital ward.

Tamara McKinney had not recovered from a pre-season fracture of the left fibula and was having a difficult time placing her foot into a ski boot, let alone negotiating a racecourse. Eva Twardokens was out of action from a fall in the season opening of the World Cup. It had taken four hours of surgery to repair her right knee. Tori Pillinger had slammed into a finish-area post going 50mph in a World Cup Super G in Switzerland. The crash had shattered her right femur, cracked her pelvis, and caused extreme damage to her left knee.

As Calgary approached, America's biggest hope was downhiller Pam Fletcher. She had captured the U.S. National Super G and Downhill titles earlier in February. However, at the Olympics, in a freak accident, she broke her leg after colliding with a course worker during training.

It was Palisades Tahoe's Edith Thys who salvaged American pride at Calgary. She achieved ninth place in the Super G, the highest individual finish of either the U.S.Men's or U.S. Women's alpine teams.

"The Olympics were the first race I had ever started in the first seed," Edith recalls. "I was nervous; I had put a lot of pressure on myself to do well."

Beginning the season on the "C" team, Thys had gained her coaches' confidences with a seventh place finish in a World Cup Super G in Sestriere, Italy. She had followed up with an impressive fifth place in Zinal, Switzerland and four more top-twenty finishes. By the time of the Olympics Thys was ranked 16th overall in World Cup Super G.

"The Olympic course was really steep on top. It had a gnarly pitch and was rough going. The middle section flattened before trailing into another steep pitch," says Edith. "Even though I had a terrible start, by the end of the run I thought I'd skied well."

Thys would finish 18th in the Olympic Downhill. She'd compete on the World Cup for five more years, fighting through a series of injuries that included a broken wrist, broken leg, and surgeries on both knees. In 1993, her last year of competition, she finished 13th overall in World Cup Super G.

"Being able to race in the Olympics was my greatest thrill," says Edith, today a wife, mother, and journalist for SKI magazine. "After finishing my race I couldn't stop smiling. The huge crowd was cheering wildly. My family was there in front of me yelling and acting crazy. I just couldn't stop smiling."