April 1, 2009
Double Olympic gold medal-winner Andrea Mead Lawrence dead at 76
by PR Wire Report/
Two-time Olympic gold medal-winner Andrea Mead Lawrence died March 30 after a long battle with cancer. She was 76.
Mead Lawrence’s generous spirit and sense of sportsmanship developed through her intimate love for the mountains, where she was born in Rutland, Vt.
At age 14, "Andy" Mead was the youngest athlete ever to be chosen for the U.S. Women's Olympic Alpine Ski Team in 1948. She garnered numerous awards in national and international championships from 1948 through 1952, including the 1948 Austrian national championships and the 1950 U.S. national championships in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Mead Lawrence's transcendent moment came while winning two gold medals (slalom and giant slalom) at the 1952 Winter Olympics, in a come-from-behind performance Olympic historian Bud Greenspan called "the greatest attempt at immortality in the Olympic Games."
Mead Lawrence is recognized as one of the best-ever women skiers in the world. She captivated an entire nation and was a celebrity in her time.
