Athlete profile: Liz McIntyre

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

With the freestyle world anticipating a duel in Lillehammer between America's defending Olympic gold medalist Donna Weinbrecht and Norwegian favorite Stine Lise Hattestad (STEE-nuh LEE-sah HAH-teh-stahd), it was instead McIntyre who emerged out of Weinbrecht's imposing shadows to challenge Hattestad on the home turf...as Weinbrecht faltered to sEventsh, McIntyre skied the race of her life -- winning the silver medal to Hattestad's gold..."It was so satisfying winning the silver," recalls McIntyre. "But to tell you the truth, I'm doing things on skis that I couldn't do then"...after the Games, McIntyre bought a black Labrador puppy, which was born on the day she won her silver medal...the dog was named Lillehammer and goes by Lillie...Lillie often goes with McIntyre hiking..."She's become quite a slider," says McIntyre. "She'll slide for 100 yards or so on her side without stopping. She'd like it to be an Olympic Events"...during Nagano, Lillie will be in Vermont watching on television with Liz's parents, Jean and Ross...for McIntyre, Olympic success has not quenched her thirst..."The Olympics mean a lot. It is the culmination of everything we do; the Super Bowl of our sport"...that said, you could understand McIntyre's focus on rehabilitation after ligament surgery on her knee last Spring...McIntyre originally injured the knee training before the 1995 World Championships...after the surgery McIntyre found herself in a similar dilemma to that of US downhiller Picabo Street..."Like Picabo, I knew I didn't have a lot of time to rehab, so I had to be organized, more focused, I had to make the most of every day on the hill," explains McIntyre. "In July it was 40 percent, in August I was a bit worried about (skiing) deep holes, but by October it was 85-90 percent, and it should be fine for the Olympics"...by "deep holes," McIntyre means when you ski moguls you must be willing to bend your knees and with the knee injury she was unbalanced -- bent on one knee, straight on the other...McIntyre, who played soccer collegiately at Dartmouth, says that soccer aided in her recovery..."I played pickup with the boys and did well," she says. "It (soccer) teaches your quick twitch muscles how to react"...so what do her parents think of what she calls the "ski bum" lifestyle?..."When I first started they were like ‘oh no she is never going back to college' and then when I made the Olympic team they were like ‘ok this is good' but now they are saying ‘oh no when is she going to stop?' I think they are worried about my long-term health"...as if she is not busy enough, McIntyre holds an elected position in the Frazier Town Council, a small community next to Winter Park -- she was voted in by 180 people and delivered her acceptance speech to two reporters..."She is always flying home from ski camp to attend these council meetings," says teammate Ann Battelle...but for America's mogulist, the government job has been, ahem, bumpy..."Mountain towns have tough choices whether to be the ski resort or whether to be environmentally conscious," says McIntyre. "It is difficult to get people to work together"...how does a person with such a busy schedule relax?... "I relax by doing things like hiking and mountain biking"...and if there is still time left in the day McIntyre can spend it fixing up her 1952 pickup truck...she claims the truck offers her a different type of satisfaction than skiing, "It is very satisfying. I can start something and in two hours be done. It is an instant gratification thing"