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More Picabo

['98 Crash]
[Super-G Gold]
[Live! Nagano]
[Pre-Olympic Concussion]
['97 Comeback]
['96 Crash]
[Skiing Index]

© 1998 The Zone Network. All rights Reserved.

Picabo Street

The last the world saw of Gold Medalist Picabo Street, it was just a month after winning the Super G gold in Nagano. It was the final downhill race of the season in Crans Montana, Switzerland and at split-second speed, Street lost control making a turn around a gate near the top of the course and lay fallen with a broken left femur and a torn right knee. It was everybody's question — was this the end of a career for America's sweetheart?

But "Peek" had been here before — from extreme high to extreme low and she had come back full force.

"It hurt my heart more than my other crashes have and I think about it. I cringe when I see it and remember it...."

It was December '96 when the two-time defending downhill champion crashed on Pepi's Face in Vail, Colorado. Street had been leading the timed practice run when she sat back coming onto the steep, final pitch of the 2.6km course and lost her balance in the air. She tumbled 200 feet before smashing into the retaining fence, tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Some may have thought that crash the end, only to see her, 14 months later, with her signature smile, on the top spot at the Winter Olympic Games.

"There were mornings when I just didn't want to get out of bed..."

Thus far her doctors are pleased, but this recovery hasn't been easy for Street. Like anyone whose body is the means to follow a dream, having it jeopardized adds another layer to the injury — it becomes more than a physical fight.

"I think I felt depression for the first time in my life," admitted Street in an exclusive Mountain Zone interview this week. "There were mornings when I just didn't want to get out of bed. But once again, I'm in an adverse situation and having to deal with something new and learn how to do it. I just figure out, 'what can I get out of this?'"

Olympic Gold Run

She has struggled, but Street, in usual fashion, is finding opportunity in her healing process to assess where she is at, not only as a world-class athlete but as a person. "There's something in it for me, that's why I'm going through it," she said.

In the last few weeks, Street has begun to emerge from the proverbial woods and see the roots of progress. Her therapy includes a combination of training in the pool, on the bike and on the treadmill, with plans to add weight training later this summer.

"I literally started riding three weeks ago, 10-15 minutes per day, and I'm up to 45-50 minutes in three weeks, so I'm hoping to be able to ride a couple or three hours on a bike by August and then I'm going to start lifting weights," she said.

Unlike those who may choose to throw in the towel under extremely adverse conditions, Street is looking toward the future — and in this dream, there are skis strapped to her feet.

"I'm carrying that light inside of me. It's making me hold my head up right now because I've been ignoring it..."

"2001 and 2002 are probably the seasons that I'll go back to skiing and compete in Salt Lake and retire after that," Street said.

And every bit of progress is inspiration to get back into winning form. After bagging the gold in Nagano by one one-hundredths of a second, Street had mapped her strategy to spend the next two years going for the World Cup overall title. She had planned to send herself back into what she calls "a very anal-retentive, athletic-only, down-to-business, very organized, only want to talk about certain things when questions need to be answered and decisions need to be made" routine.

But in one second on the hill that day in Switzerland, any previous plans were scrapped.

"I was going to bring slalom into the program," she said of her previous plans. "I probably would have spent a good 15 days up on slalom boards on Mt. Hood already. My life would be entirely different. It's completely changed."

"Three months without being able to really exert myself...except freaking out and crying..."

But the opportunity mired in her latest epic challenge is that of a life experience, a "breather" she didn't ask for.

"I think that I honestly would never have let myself sit down and enjoy the 22 1/2 years of work that I put into becoming a gold medalist," Street professed. "I've really settled into the message this time and the kick in the teeth that says 'come on man, 22 1/2 years you worked for this one... chill out and enjoy it.'"

It's this lesson that Street is in the process of extracting from this latest chapter in her life. It's not just about being a skier, it's about where skiing fits into her life.

"I've made a promise to myself to be a 100% healthy person if nothing else," said Street.

"Nobody needs to prove to anybody what they're worthy of, just the person that they look at in the mirror..."

Fans have shown their support for their favorite downhill skier, sending over 5,000 emails, numerous gifts and letters. She reads everything and shares everything. The flowers Street received while in a Vail hospital lined the hallways on the entire floor and when she left, every patient on the floor got one if not two bouquets. [Our gift of Pacific Northwest smoked salmon was "devoured" by Gary the therapist and Street's dad.]

Of her fans, Street said, "the bottom line is that they're not expecting anything from me except to just get better," Street said of the overwhelming support she continues to receive. "It really enabled me to focus on trying to be healthy and it helped a ton."

The public need not worry about the spirit of Picabo Street. Her focus is there and her priorities are straight. "Nobody needs to prove to anybody what they're worthy of, just the person that they look at in the mirror. That's the only person you need to answer to," said Street.

That's good advice. Regardless of how far down she's pushed, Street will always re-emerge and she'll probably always command the spotlight, because, like she says..."I'm not following anybody's tracks, I'm making my own baby."

—Michelle Quigley and Sarah Love, Mountain Zone Staff
Interview by Brent Brookler