20 Year Anniversary: Idaho’s Picabo Street Wins Gold At Nagano

Fourteen days from now the 2018 Winter Olympic Games begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Some athletes will medal for the first time in their lives, setting into motion a level of national admiration never before experienced by the athlete. It's particularly exciting for those of us looking on, when that athlete grew up in your hometown.

Many Idahoans remember the name Picabo Street. She was born in Triumph, Idaho, in 1971. Triumph is 80 miles north of Twin Falls. The town is located in Blaine County, and for more than 20 years beginning in the 1880s, was one the country's biggest producers of lead and silver, according to Wikipedia.

In February 1998, Picabo was a member of the U.S. Olympic Alpine Ski Team, at the age of 26. In the slimmest margin of victory ever (0.01 sec), she finished her run with a time of seventy eight seconds, winning her a gold medal in the Downhill Super-G Combined event. Her efforts in Nagano, Japan, resulted in sponsorships from Mountain Dew and ChapStick, and made her a household name.

With just two weeks left until the 2018 winter games, I thought I'd share this Idaho native's gold medal performance, which took place almost two decades ago.

GO TEAM USA!