Women Of Mettle

let us now praise famous women:

Bonnie Blair, speed skating, two gold medals.

Cathy Turner, short-track speed skating, gold medal, silver medal.

Kristi Yamaguchi, figure skating, gold medal.

Donna Weinbrecht, moguls, gold.

Diann Roffe, giant slalom, silver.

Hilary Lindh, downhill, silver.

Nancy Kerrigan, figure skating, bronze.

In all, of the 11 medals won by U.S. athletes at Albertville—the best American showing in the Winter Games since 1980—women took home nine, including all five of the golds. Half of the 20 other top-10 finishes by U.S. athletes belonged to women. Figure skater Tonya Harding placed fourth. Skier Julie Parisien was fourth in the slalom, fifth in the giant slalom, and her teammate Eva Twardokens was seventh in the giant slalom and eighth in the Super G. In the luge, Cammy Myler finished fifth, Erica Terwilleger ninth.

American women finished higher than American men in every sport in which both fielded teams, except cross-country and biathlon, in which the two sexes were equally inept, neither one cracking the top 10. In every other discipline, on snow and on ice, in traditional sports and in first-time Olympic sports, the dynamic and surprising U.S. women outdid their brethren. Composing just 34% of the U.S. team—55 of 161 athletes—the ladies wearing stars and stripes took home 82% of the medals.