Debbie Armstrong

**Debra Rae** "**Debbie**" **Armstrong** (born December 6, 1963) be former World Cup alpine ski racer wey komot Seattle, Washington. Na she be de first Olympic gold medalist from de U.S. for women's alpine skiing insyd twelve years, she win de giant slalom for de 1984 Winter Olympics insyd Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

## Racing career
Dem born am insyd Salem, Oregon, Armstrong grow up insyd Seattle wey na she be multi-sport athlete for Garfield High School; for addition to ski racing, she sanso play basketball, soccer, volleyball, den tennis. Na dem induct Armstrong insyd de Seattle Public Schools Hall of Fame, State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame, den de National Ski Hall of Fame.

Armstrong develop ein racing skills insyd de 1970s for de Alpental ski area for Snoqualmie Pass, hour east of Seattle for I-90. Dem name de run "Debbie's Gold" den de "Armstrong's Express" high-speed quad chairlift give am.

Na she be de junior national champion insyd giant slalom insyd 1980 for Squaw Valley. After dem name am to de U.S. Ski Team insyd 1981 she place 14th insyd ein first World Cup Giant slalom insyd Val d'isere, France dey start from bib number 68.

Armstrong make de 1982 World Championship team insyd Austria, buh she break ein leg for downhill training run insyd wey she no compete. Na she be runner-up insyd de giant slalom for de 1983 U.S. Nationals, den insyd January 1984, wey na she be third insyd World Cup super-G den fifth insyd giant slalom, shortly before de Olympics.

For de 1984 Winter Olympics insyd Sarajevo, Armstrong cam turn de first American woman make she win gold medal insyd skiing since Barbara Cochran win de slalom dozen years earlier for Sapporo.

For de 1985 World Championships insyd Bormio, Italy, Armstrong place 4th insyd de giant slalom. Insyd 1987 for de World Championships, Armstrong place sixth insyd de Super-G. wey she cam turn de U.S. National Giant slalom Champion.

Dey defend ein gold medal, she fini thirteenth insyd de giant slalom for de 1988 Winter Olympics insyd Calgary.

Dr. Hubert Armstrong, Armstrong ein poppie, be clinical psychologist for de University of Washington; he participate insyd de 1988 Winter Olympics, dey represent de US luge team as de sports psychologist. Na ein 1986 *Parenting the Elite Athlete* (Armstrong, Hubert E., Jr., Ph.D. (February/March 1986) gain traction as classic sport parenting article insyd alpine ski racing.

She plete ein World Cup career plus 18 top ten finishes: 7 insyd downhill, three insyd Super-G, five insyd giant slalom, den three insyd combined.

## World Cup results

### Season standings

### Top ten finishes

* 0 wins, 1 podium (SG), 18 top tens (7 DH, 3 SG, 5 GS, 3K)

## World championship results

## Olympic results

## Post-racing
After ein retirement from competitive skiing dey follow de 1988 World Cup season, Armstrong lead various humanitarian causes, wey dey include de Debbie Armstrong Say No to Alcohol and Drugs campaign; de SKIFORALL Foundation, wich dey gbele skiing events to de disabled; den Global ReLeaf Sarajevo, wich dey seek to reforest Sarajevo after de Bosnian war. Armstrong move go Albuquerque, NM wey she attend University of New Mexico den earn undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science) in History.

Armstrong serve as de Ski Ambassador for Taos Ski Valley for eight seasons. Simultaneously, she serve four-year term for de Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) Alpine Demo Team wich mark de first time former US Ski Team athlete qualify for de Demo Team.

De PSIA Demo Team (now dem know am as de PSIA-AASI Alpine Team) wey dey make up of de top ski instructors insyd de nation. Dese professionals be "sam of de best skiers den riders insyd de game wey dem be inspirational educators den lifelong learners. Every four years, dem dey choose thirty men den women make dem represent de association dey follow rigorous selection process. Team members be responsible make dem dey promote, support, den assist plus de development of PSIA-AASI education materials, programs, den activities for all levels. Dem dey set de standard give U.S. snowsports instruction den embody de ski den snowboard experience."

Insyd 2007, Armstrong move go Steamboat Springs, Colorado wer na she serve one year as Technical Director give de Steamboat Ski Resort (Armstrong 2008, p. 36). Insyd 2008, she cam turn de Alpine Director for de Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, world-renowned ski club wey dey locate insyd Steamboat Springs, Colorado, position she hold for six years. Dey begin plus de 2014 season, Armstrong transition to de U10 Head Coach position den Coach Trainer for de Sports Club.

Currently, Armstrong dey specialize insyd de training den development of young skiers (U8-U12) den dey serve for numerous US Ski and Snowboard Task Forces for Education, Athlete Development den Gender Topics. Armstrong dey produce specialized training videos give coaches den athletes.

## Bibliography

* Armstrong Jr., Ph.D., Hubert E.(February/March, 1986). "Parenting the Elite Athlete", Puget Soundings, p6.
* Armstrong, Deb (September, 1987). "The importance of being an all-around athlete [Athlete Point of View]", American Ski Coach, v11, n1, p38.
* Armstrong, Deb (Fall, 2001). "IMSIA mountain rendezvous 2001: a success of olympic proportions", the professional skier, p44.
* Armstrong, Deb (Winter, 2003). "Turning to tipping and back again: a process of rediscovery", the professional skier, p8.
* Armstrong, Deb (Spring, 2004). "To vary your turn radius, improve your range of lateral motion", the professional skier, p28.
* Armstrong, Deb (Winter, 2005). "Avoid the rainbow rut with new turn tactis", the professional skier, p34.
* Armstrong, Deb (Spring, 2005). "Training for life", the professional skier, p16.
* Armstrong, Deb (Fall, 2005). "My winter with Otto Lang", the professional skier, p28.
* Armstrong, Deb (Winter, 2006). "US Ski Team shares its alpine tactics", the professional skier, p30.
* Armstrong, Deb (Fall, 2006). "Where are you going? A look at directional movement", the professional skier, p26.
* Armstrong, Deb (Spring, 2008). "It's hip to think hips, even if you're a fan of the ankles", the professional skier, p32.

## References


## External links

* Debbie Armstrong at FIS (alpine)
* Debbie Armstrong at FIS (cross-country)
* Debbie Armstrong at Olympics.com
* Debbie Armstrong at Olympedia
* Debbie Armstrong at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database 
* ''Sports Illustrated'' cover 20-Feb-1984 Archived 2008-08-29 at de Wayback Machine
* ''Sports Illustrated'' article 20-Feb-1984: "Have fun! Have fun! Have fun!" by William Oscar Johnson at archive.today (archived January 2, 2013)
* Debbie Armstrong bio at Hickok Sports.com at de Library of Congress Web Archives (archived February 23, 2002)
* About PSIA-AASI Teams
* International Skiing History website - bio of Debbie Armstrong
* Debra Armstrong Training Videos for technical and tactical ski skill development - A primary emphasis is ideas for ski coaches.

### Videos

* 1984 Winter Olympics - Women's giant slalom – Debbie Armstrong's 1st run starts at 2:40 - ABC Sports for YouTube top
* 1984 Winter Olympics - Women's giant slalom – Debbie Armstrong's 2nd (winning) run starts at 4:32 - ABC Sports for YouTube top
* 1984 Winter Olympics - Women's giant slalom – Final runs and interviews with Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper after US Women took 1st, 2nd and 4th - ABC Sports for YouTube top
* 1984 Winter Olympics - Women's giant slalom – Awards Ceremony- Debbie Armstrong wins Gold and Christin Cooper wins Silver - ABC Sports for YouTube top
* White House Reception for 1984 Olympic Athletes - posted with permission from the Reagan Presidential Library for YouTube top