In 1971, Picabo was born to Dee and Ron Street in their home in Triumph, Idaho. Dee and Ron settled there with hopes that their children would grow up as free spirits. A focus on instilling a sense of independence inspired the Streets to allow their children to choose their own names. When Picabo was three, her parents helped her decide on the name of a favorite local creek, which translated from the Shoshone and Bannock Indian languages as shining water or silver creek.
Picabo began skiing at the young age of five, often outperforming many of her male counterparts. She climbed the ranks of Junior Nationals and joined the United States Ski Team in 1988. After struggling in her early years of competition, Picabo seized her first major victory in 1993; inspired by teammate Hilary Lindh's 1992 Olympic silver medal, Picabo won the silver medal in the combined competition at the World Alpine Championships. Her most impressive race of the 1994 season proved to be at the Lillehammer, Norway Olympic Winter Games when she captured silver in the downhill.
The 1994-1995 season rendered six World Cup downhill victories for Picabo and she became the first American (male or female) to win a downhill season title. She also won the World Championships, and again the World Cup downhill title in 1996.
Picabo missed the entire 1996-97 race season due to a torn ACL, a devastating injury for a skier. Seven months and three days later, Picabo put on her skis at Mount Hood, Oregon and resumed her training. Within eight short months, Picabo clenched an Olympic berth and prepared for the 1998 Nagano Games. Only a dozen days prior to her race, Picabo suffered a crash so intense it knocked her out. The crash actually proved to be a necessary element in her Olympic success as it had proven to Picabo that her knee was strong and would hold under pressure. Her amazing comeback came full circle when Picabo won the gold medal in Olympic Super G.
Atop the skiing field, gold medal in hand, Picabo opted to forego the talk shows and sponsor requests and instead chose to compete at the World Cup final in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Going faster than 60 mph, she lost control and flew into the fence, breaking her left femur in four places and tearing the ACL in her right leg.
The severity of this injury would sideline Picabo for two years and public thoughts of her revisiting the sport were few and far between. The break from skiing only fueled Picabo's fire and at age 29, she again returned as an active member of the US Ski Team in 2001. Her comeback season resulted in four NorAm victories for Picabo, and a 2nd place finish at US Nationals, leaving her with a renewed sense of confidence. Picabo accomplished her goal of competing at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and she announced her retirement in front of the largest crowd at a ski race in American history.
Contemporary Books, a division of McGraw Hill, released Picabo's autobiography in 2002, with writer Dana White. Picabo: Nothing to Hide was available nationwide until recently and is now available via the internet.
Picabo's commercial activities since her 2002 retirement from competition have included broadcasting assignments with NBC's Today Show, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, OLN and the FineLiving Network. Picabo has on-going celebrity endorsements with Giro helmets, Bolle eyewear, Park City Mountain Resort, Walk EZ and Bogner of America. In 2003 Picabo hosted a 12 series winter sports show for OLN entitled Picabo Street's Snow Zone and in 2006 Picabo was a Special Correspondent to NBC's Today Show throughout the Turin Olympic Winter Games.
In January of 2005 Picabo was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and she remains one of the biggest names in the sporting world. Picabo is the National Spokesperson for the National Children's Alliance, a non-profit organization that benefits abused youth. She resides in Park City, Utah where she enjoys spending time with her family, her horses and her dog. As one might expect, Picabo remains addicted to the thrill of speed and personal accomplishment in all facets of her life.
Picabo Street, Olympic gold medalist skier, is available exclusively through IMG Speakers bureau for speaking engagements. Picabo Street is also available for Olympic appearances, corporate hospitality events, meet and greets, and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking Picabo Street.
