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The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

By Adam Strangis

16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
16th October 1964: Alfred A Oerter, American winner of the Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics 1964 for Discus throwing. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) /
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15-year old skiing prodigy, Andrea Mead Lawrence, practicing for Winter Olympics. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)
15-year old skiing prodigy, Andrea Mead Lawrence, practicing for Winter Olympics. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images) /

Vermont: Andrea Mead Lawrence

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Olympics: St. Moritz 1948, Oslo 1952, and Cortina D’Ampezzo 1956

If Utah is a great spot to be a talented skier, Vermont can’t be far behind on that list. Sure enough, one of the best Olympians to hail from the state is also a skier. Andrea Mead Lawrence was born into a skiing family who owned a ski resort in Rutland County, Vermont. Growing up in and around the Pico Peak ski resort proved to feed the talent that Lawrence had and she quickly got her amateur career started.

Lawrence made the national team when she was just 14 years old and didn’t have much time to get ready for the Olympics. They were going to take place the following year and Lawrence was part of the team that went to St. Moritz in Switzerland. At just 15 years old, Lawrence took part in her first Games and managed an eighth-place finish in the slalom event. When she returned to the Games four years later, she was the team captain and tasted Olympic glory for the first time. She took the gold medal in both the slalom and the giant slalom events and in the process became the first American to win two golds in alpine skiing.

While Lawrence did represent the United States again in 1956, she finished fourth in the giant slalom. During the 1960 Olympics, Lawrence was chosen to carry the torch during Opening Ceremonies. She has been inducted as a member of the Vermont and International Skiing Hall of Fames.

Honorable Mention: Billy Kidd, skiing in Innsbruck 1964 and Grenoble 1968

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