Cynthia (Cindy) Nelson: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1990

Nelson was a four-time Olympian.

October 17, 2019 at 7:41PM
March 4, 1974 Cindy Nelson - Skier
Cindy Nelson, shown in 1974, was a member of four U.S. Olympic ski teams. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Cynthia "Cindy" Nelson, who was born in Duluth and raised in Lutsen, Minn., is the only woman to ski on four U.S. Olympic teams.

Nelson raced in all five alpine disciplines, with a focus on downhill, and was on the World Cup squad of the U.S. Ski Team at the age of 16.

Nelson won the bronze medal in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

She won her first World Cup race in 1974, becoming the first American to gain a World Cup victory in downhill. She retired from international competition after the 1985 season with six World Cup victories.

CINDY NELSON

Class: 1990.

Sport: Skiing.

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Joel Rippel

News Assistant

Joel Rippel writes about sports for the Star Tribune.

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