Bill Johnson (skier)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 30, 1960 Los Angeles, California,  United States |
| Occupation | Alpine skier |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | Downhill, Super-G, Combined |
| World Cup debut | February 5, 1983 (age 22) |
| Retired | March 1986 |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 1 |
| Medals | 1 (1 gold) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 1 |
| World Cup | |
| Seasons | 4 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s alpine skiing | ||
| Representing the United States
| ||
 |
1984 Sarajevo | Downhill |
William Dean ("Bill") Johnson (born March 30, 1960 in Los Angeles, California) is a former alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. He was the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing, winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
Olympic triumph
Raised in Brightwood, Oregon, Johnson was a troubled youth who began competitive skiing on nearby Mt. Hood as a means of harnessing his energy. After a run-in with the law at age 17, the juvenile defendant was given the choice between six months in jail or attending the Mission Ridge ski academy in central Washington state, and he chose the latter. His talent in the downhill event eventually landed him a spot on the U.S. Ski Team. Johnson made his World Cup debut in February 1983 and finished sixth in the downhill at St. Anton, Austria.
In 1984, at age 23, Johnson challenged the long-established European domination of downhill ski racing. After mostly undistinguished finishes, his unexpected victory on January 15, 1984 on the storied Lauberhorn course at Wengen, Switzerland, was the first for an American male in World Cup downhill competition.
A month later at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia), he had promising downhill training runs and boldly predicted his Olympic victory, evoking comparisons to Joe Namath and Muhammad Ali, and irking his European competitors. His gold medal win at Bjelašnica in a time of 1:45.59 edged out silver medalist Peter Müller of Switzerland by 0.27 seconds.[1]
World Cup Top Ten Finishes
| Season | Date | Location | Race | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 11-Feb-1983 |  St. Anton, Austria |
Downhill | 6th |
| 1984 | 15-Jan-1984 |  Wengen, Switzerland |
Downhill | 1st |
| 02-Feb-1984 |  Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
Downhill | 4th | |
 1984 Winter Olympics
| ||||
| 04-Mar-1984 |  Aspen, CO, USA |
Downhill | 1st | |
| 11-Mar-1984 |  Whistler, BC, Canada |
Downhill | 1st | |
| 1985 | 19-Jan-1985 | Wengen, Switzerland |
Downhill | 10th |
| 20-Jan-1985 | Wengen, Switzerland |
Downhill | 7th | |
| 1986 | 18-Jan-1986 | Kitzbühel, Austria |
Downhill | 8th |
| 07-Feb-1986 |  Morzine, France |
Downhill | 10th | |
| 21-Feb-1986 |  Åre, Sweden |
Downhill | 9th | |
| 15-Mar-1986 | Whistler, BC, Canada |
Downhill | 7th | |
Post-Olympic slide
After two more World Cup downhill victories in Aspen and Whistler in March 1984, Johnson was at the top of his sport. With four downhill wins in just two months, he was an Olympic champion and finished third in the downhill season standings.[3]
But after the 1984 season, his best results were two 7th place finishes: at Wengen in January 1985 and at Whistler in March 1986, his final World Cup downhill race.
Due to injuries to his left knee and back which required surgery, and more significantly, sagging results, Johnson was left off the U.S. team for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, unable to defend his gold medal. By the end of the decade, he was done as a serious competitor.
Johnson's Olympic career was the subject of a 1985 TV movie called Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story,
featuring future ER actor Anthony Edwards in the title role.[4]
Comeback attempt
Johnson's personal life suffered as well, when his 13-month-old son drowned in a hot tub in 1992. At age 40, his marriage ended in divorce, and he was bankrupt and living in his class A motorhome when he mounted an improbable comeback bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The comeback ended abruptly on March 22, 2001, when Johnson crashed horribly during the downhill race of the 2001 U.S. Alpine Championships, held at The Big Mountain near Whitefish, Montana. He sustained serious injury to the left side of his brain, nearly bit off his tongue, and was comatose for three weeks.[5]
Johnson currently lives in Zigzag, near Mount Hood, and remains brain-damaged and in need of constant care, mostly from his mother. He lives on disability and has become slightly more functional, though his speech and memory are permanently impaired.[6][7]
Other facts
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (January 2009) |
- Johnson’s stated personal motto (tattooed on his arm) was “Ski To Die.”
- Bill has 2 sons, named Tyler and Nick
References
- ^ FIS-ski.com - 1984 Olympic Downhill - top 15 finishers - accessed 2010-12-27
- ^ FIS-ski.com - race results - Bill Johnson
- ^ FIS-ski.com - World Cup season standings - Bill Johnson - 1983-86 - accessed 2010-12-27
- ^ IMDb.com - Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story - (TV movie) - 1985
- ^ Outside Magazine - "End of the Run," by Bill Donahue, February 2002
- ^ Canzano, John (February 2, 2010). "Winter Olympics hero Bill Johnson remains at home on the mountain, even after pain replaces fame". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
- ^ Erskine, Chris (February 4, 2010). "Life catches up to skier "Wild Bill" Johnson". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- Jennifer Woodlief (2006). Ski to Die : The Bill Johnson Story. Cincinnati: Emmis Books. ISBN 1-57860-248-3.
- ESPN.com - 'They should hand (the gold medal) to me' - January 8, 2002
External links
- Bill Johnson at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Ski-db.com - results - Bill Johnson
- U.S. Olympic Team.com - Bill Johnson - profile
- Sports Illustrated - cover - 27-Feb-1984 - Olympic Downhill Champion
- They Saved the Best for Last - by William Oscar Johnson
- YouTube video - Wengen victory - 15-Jan-1984 - near wipeout 20 seconds from finish
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