Judy Nagel

Judy Nagel
— Alpine skier —
Disciplines Giant Slalom, Slalom,
Downhill, Combined
Club Crystal Mountain Alpine
Born (1951-08-27) August 27, 1951
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
World Cup debut January 1968 (age 16)
Retired April 1970 (age 18)
Olympics
Teams 1 – (1968)
Medals 0
World Championships
Teams 2 – (1968, 1970)
Medals 0
World Cup
Seasons 3 – (1968–70)
Wins 3 – (2 SL, 1 GS
Podiums 12 – (8 SL, 4 GS
Overall titles 0 – (6th in 1970)
Discipline titles 0 – (4th: SL ('69), GS ('70))
Medal record
Women’s alpine skiing
Representing the
 United States
U.S. Alpine Championships
1968 Crystal Mtn Slalom
1968 Crystal Mtn Combined

Judy Ann Nagel (born August 27, 1951) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States.

Early years

Born in Seattle, Washington, Nagel was the younger of two daughters of an Olympic ski racer. She learned to ski and race at Stevens Pass when the family lived in Skykomish. When Crystal Mountain began operations in 1962, her father headed the new ski school and race program, and the family relocated to Enumclaw.[1]

Her father, Jack Nagel (1926–2004),[1] was a member of the U.S. alpine team at the 1952 Winter Olympics; he fell in the first run of the slalom and finished 29th in the giant slalom. Born in Port Townsend and raised in Skykomish, Jack was a third-generation logger when skiing was gaining popularity in the 1940s.[1] He later ran the only gas station in Skykomish and was a ski instructor at Stevens Pass until 1962,[2] when the new Crystal Mountain opened near Mount Rainier. His racing school was featured in Sports Illustrated in 1963, with older daughter Cathy, 14, on the cover.[3]

Racing career

Nagel competed in the 1968 Winter Olympics at age 16. Not originally on the World Cup or Olympic teams, Nagel and 18-year-old Kiki Cutter of Oregon were brought over to Europe a few weeks ahead of the Olympics to compete for berths on the U.S. Olympic team, which they both made. Nagel placed eighth and sixth in the two World Cup slaloms immediately preceding the Olympics, and led the Olympic slalom at Chamrousse by eight-hundredths of a second after the first run. U.S. racers seemingly held four of the first six spots after the first run, but the other three Americans were subsequently disqualified for missed gates.[4] With the fastest run that qualified, Nagel was last out of the gate in the second run and missed an early gate.[5] She climbed back up the hill to make the gate, then straddled another and had another spill to cross the finish line well back and was disqualified.[6] Two days later, Nagel was the top U.S. finisher in the giant slalom at 12th place.[7]

Back at her home mountain for the U.S. Alpine Championships, she won the slalom and combined at Crystal Mountain.[8] A few weeks later Nagel gained her first World Cup podium at Heavenly Valley. She finished her first World Cup season eleventh overall, tenth in slalom, and ninth in giant slalom.

In the 1969 season, Nagel gained her first World Cup victory at age 17 (& 5½ months), and remains the youngest-ever American to win an alpine World Cup race. In that first win in Italy, her older sister Cathy was the runner-up. Her other wins were a sweep of the technical events in Lienz, Austria.[9] Nagel's final World Cup race was in March 1970 at age 18; she retired from the circuit later that year to coach and pursue other interests.[10] During her brief World Cup career, she won three races, attained twelve podiums, and had 29 top ten finishes.

World Cup results

Season standings

Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
Slalom 		Downhill
1968 16 11 10 9 —
1969 17 10 4 13 19
1970 18 6 7 4 11

Race podiums

Season Date Location Discipline Place
1968 6 Apr 1968 United States Heavenly Valley, USA Slalom 3rd
1969 4 Jan 1969 West Germany Oberstaufen, West Germany Slalom 2nd
23 Jan 1969 France St. Gervais, France Slalom 3rd
8 Feb 1969 Italy Sterzing, Italy Slalom 1st
28 Feb 1969 United States Squaw Valley, USA Slalom 3rd
22 Mar 1969 United States Waterville Valley, USA Slalom 3rd
1970 19 Dec 1969 Austria Lienz, Austria Giant Slalom 1st
20 Dec 1969 Slalom 1st
24 Jan 1970 France St. Gervais, France Giant Slalom 3rd
1 Feb 1970 Italy Abetone, Italy Giant Slalom 3rd
2 Feb 1970 Slalom 2nd
27 Feb 1970 Canada Vancouver, Canada Giant Slalom 3rd

References

  1. 1 2 3 Holt, Gordy (March 23, 2004). "Jack Nagel, 1926-2004: Ski pioneer 'bubbled' with energy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  2. ↑ "History". Stevens Pass Alpine Club. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  3. ↑ "A maestro tunes his teen ski stars". Sports Illustrated: 24. February 11, 1963.
  4. ↑ "Can luck get any worse? It just did for Americans". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 14, 1968. p. 12.
  5. ↑ "Marielle 1st in slalom". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). UPI. February 13, 1968. p. 15.
  6. ↑ "State girl falls short". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). Associated Press. February 13, 1968. p. 5.
  7. ↑ "Nancy wins gold". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. February 15, 1968. p. 28.
  8. ↑ "Judy Nagel wins U.S. slalom title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 11, 1968. p. 12.
  9. ↑ "Judy Nagel wins slalom to finish World Cup ski sweep". Modesto Bee. Associated Press. December 21, 1969. p. C-10.
  10. ↑ "Judy Nagel retiring". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 12, 1970. p. 3-C.
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