| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Jean Saubert |
||
| Women's alpine skiing | ||
| Competitor for the United States | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | Innsbruck 1964 | Giant slalom |
| Bronze | Innsbruck 1964 | Slalom |
Jean Marlene Saubert (May 1, 1942 – May 14, 2007) was a competitive alpine skier from the United States. She won two medals in the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. After graduating from college, Saubert become a teacher. She died in 2007.
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Born in Roseburg, Oregon on May 1, 1942, Saubert grew up in Cascadia.[1] She learned to ski at Hoodoo Butte and raced competitively at Mount Hood and Mount Bachelor.[1] She graduated from Lakeview High School in 1960.
In 1962, Saubert earned a spot on the United States Olympic team.[1] Her first international skiing competition was the 1962 World Ski Championships in Chamonix, France, where she finished sixth in the giant slalom.[2] In 1963 and 1964, she was the United States downhill skiing and giant slalom national champion, also winning the slalom and Alpine combined national championships in 1964.[3] She would win a total of 8 U.S. championships in her skiing career.[4]
At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Saubert won a bronze medal in the slalom and a silver medal in the giant slalom, losing only to French skiing sisters Christine and Marielle Goitschel. Saubert was the only multiple medal winner for the United States in those Olympics, and her medals represented two of the six medals won by the entire United States team.[5] Two years later, Saubert finished fourth in the slalom at the 1966 World Ski Championships in Portillo, Chile.[6]
Saubert returned to Oregon and graduated from Oregon State University in 1966.[1] She joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and earned a master's degree at Brigham Young University. While in Utah, she taught physical education training and worked as a ski instructor for several years before moving back to Oregon, where she taught elementary school in Hillsboro.[1][7]
She was inducted into the United States National Ski Hall of Fame in 1976[7] and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.[8] She was chosen to be one of the torchbearers for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.[4]
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, and died of the disease in Bigfork, Montana on May 14, 2007.