Christine Smith (skier)

Christine Idris Smith (13 December 1946 – 8 May 1979[1]) was an Australian alpine skier. She has been described as a "long-haired blonde with an 'all-Australian girl next door' image."[2]

Born in Cooma, Smith learned to ski at an early age. She was a "stylish and aggressive skier"[2] who competed in the 1962 Commonwealth Winter Games[1] and won the Thredbo Cup in Australia in 1963–64.[3] At the 1964 Winter Olympics, Smith came 27th out of 43 in the downhill. She also came 28th and last in the slalom and was disqualified in the giant slalom.[4][5] Her performances were affected by the death of a fellow competitor Ross Milne.[2]

In 1965, while recuperating from a ski accident in Europe, she was enlisted to teach The Beatles to ski for their film Help!, and performed in the movie in a short skiing sequence.[3] Smith competed in the World Ski Championships in Chile in 1966, and taught skiing at Thredbo and other venues before establishing an interior design business in 1974. In 1977 she married Wayne Arthur Garland.[1]

In 1979, Smith committed suicide by swallowing chloral hydrate and paracetamol with salicylic acid.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Smith, Christine Idris (1946–1979) at the Australian Women's Register.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Christine Idris (1946–1979) at the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  3. 1 2 Christine Smith at sports-reference.com
  4. ↑ "Christine Smith Alpine Skiing". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  5. ↑ Harry Gordon, Australia and the Olympic Games (University of Queensland, 1994), p. 417.
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