Gretchen Fraser - Skiing

Gretchen Fraser earned a spot in national and then Oregon sports history as an Olympic champion and champion of social causes.

Born in 1919, Fraser, at age 28, became the first U.S. skier to win an Olympic gold medal in the slalom during the Olympic Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She also won a silver medal in the alpine skiing combined, which involved a downhill and slalom competition.

Fraser, who had served as a body double for actress Sonja Henne in two movies prior to World War II, became a media darling during the ’48 Games with her bright attitude, big smile and pig tails. Her face adorned the front of Wheaties boxes for five years.

A resident of Vancouver, Wash., and Sun Valley, Idaho, Fraser spent nearly 30 years in Oregon helping wounded and disabled war veterans become involved in skiing or other athletic activities. She is one of the pioneers of adaptive skiing, having become involved in rehabilitation of soldiers during World War II. She helped found the Flying Outriggers ski club in Portland.

Fraser is an inductee in the National Ski Hall of Fame, the University of Puget Sound Hall of Fame, Washington Sports Hall of Fame and Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame.

She was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. She passed away in 1994 in Sun Valley, Idaho, at age 75.