Lawrence, Andrea (Mead)
Skiing
b. April 19, 1932, Rutland, VT
The only American skier to win two gold medals at the Winter Olympics, Andrea Mead learned the sport at a very early age, because her parents owned a ski center.
When she was fifteen, she qualified for the 1948 Olympic slalom. She didn't win any medals, but she did meet David Lawrence of the men's ski team. They were married in Switzerland in 1951, when the U. S. national team was touring Europe. She had a very successful tour, winning 10 of 16 races and finishing second in four.
Her new husband had to learn not to wish her good luck; she preferred being told to have fun. "Everybody wants to win but, honestly, I don't care," she once said. "I just want to do my best."
At the 1952 Olympics, Mrs. Lawrence was the first medal winner, in the giant slalom, the day before the opening ceremonies. She followed that with an incredible victory in the slalom. She fell on the first of her two runs but got up quickly and flashed down the course to finish fourth. Her second run was 2 seconds faster than anyone else's to put her in first place overall.
She had a chance for a third gold medal, but she fell again while turning in the best split times in the downhill race. This time, there was no way to make up for it and she finished 17th.
She had three children in the next four years. The third was born just four months before the Olympics but she again qualified for the U. S. team and finished in a tie for fourth in the giant slalom, just .1 second behind the bronze medal winner.
Mrs. Lawrence won the national downhill, slalom, and alpine combined championships in 1949, 1952 and 1955, and she was the giant slalom champion in 1953.