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Whitefish Olympian Reflects On Finding Focus As An Athlete

Olympian Hilary Lindh speaks during the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala, Feb. 7, 2018.
Nicky Ouellet
Olympian Hilary Lindh speaks during the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala, Feb. 7, 2018.

As the Olympic Games kick off today in Pyeongchang, South Korea, a three-time Olympic downhill skier who now lives in Whitefish shares her race memories and lessons learned.

Hilary Lindh sums up her three Olympic races like this.

“First one: ski off in the bushes and cry. Second one: woohoo! Third one: ehh,” she said.

Lindh was the keynote speaker at the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala Wednesday night. Winning an Olympic medal was a dream from early childhood for Lindh, but it took a while to get there. She missed a gate at the Calgary games in 1988 and afterward, she says she had to learn how to tune out other people’s expectations. Her focus became a mantra.

“For me, it was forward, fast and strong,” Lindh said.

Forward, fast and strong she was. She won a silver medal in the downhill in 1992 at the games in Albertville, France, and remembers savoring the moment before she took off her helmet at the end of the run.

“There's just a split second before anyone else sees your face when it's all yours. Your reaction and your feeling and everything is for you. And then it’s all about the celebration and facing the cameras and talking to people and celebrating on a bigger stage. But that split second when you cross the finish line and you see that effort and that approach and that focus all paid off is pretty incredible,” she said.

Lindh frames her Olympic experiences not as single events, but as a journey of finding her focus.

“I think my experiences as an Olympian and as an athlete taught me to really take charge and be responsible for what I wanted to see happen, and I think that applies to, really, anything in your life,” she said.

Lindh was inducted into the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame in 2005. She currently works in the Whitefish city planning office, and coaches for the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation.

Montana is sending three athletes to the winter games in Pyeongchang. Freestyle skiers Maggie Voisin of Whitefish and Darian Stevens of Missoula, along with moguls skier Brad Wilson of Butte, will represent Team USA.

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