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ajkeence99 t1_jbpa4c1 wrote

Reply to comment by Markiemark1956 in Mikaela Shiffrin gets her record 86th World Cup victory by Jokobib

I think just because it's not necessarily a popular sport. Very rarely have winter sport athletes ever received much publicity. Lindsey Vonn is legitimately the only other strictly winter sport athlete I can name. I remember watching the Olympics and thinking a handful of others were cool in the moment but not enough to remember them.

I just remembered Shaun White as I was about to post.

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r2k398 t1_jbpbbwv wrote

Apollo Anton Ohno, Picabo Street, Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan

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ajkeence99 t1_jbpc1rz wrote

Names that ring a bell to me but that don't just come to mind when considering the topic. I remember them enough to know, well believe, it was actually Kristi Yamaguchi. Anyway, I made another comment down below about the topic. It's not meant in a disrespectful manner towards her just speaking to my take on the situation as a whole.

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Realistic_Condition7 t1_jbqahun wrote

As someone who doesn’t pay attention to winter sports and only hears (or sometimes watches) about it is when the Winter Olympics are on, I’ve never heard of any of those people.

I’ve heard of Lindsey Vonn though.

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r2k398 t1_jbqamsa wrote

They are all Olympians but not current.

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Realistic_Condition7 t1_jbr3brp wrote

Gotcha. Idk why Lindsey Vonn is the one I remember. Maybe she was involved in more tabloids or something. Shaun White I remember as well.

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floofnstuff t1_jbr2s0k wrote

Here’s a name you’ve probably heard- Tonya Harding

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blackcatpandora t1_jbrhzhi wrote

Hell yeah picabo street! That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time

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Sell_TheKids_ForFood t1_jbpqbgu wrote

So that's 4 names out of what 30 years?

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r2k398 t1_jbpqhha wrote

Those were the only ones I could think of. Not too many of them. I would like to know the names of those badass curling team members.

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Sell_TheKids_ForFood t1_jbpqwdp wrote

I think that's the point. I spent many years as a huge sports fan, and other than hockey players, winter Olympians don't seem to stand out.
This person is the Tiger Woods of skiing, maybe even the Michael Jordan of skiing, and I have never heard her name before and I think that's a shame.

Edit: Maybe that's on me, too. To find these kinds of stories instead of waiting to be fed them.

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r2k398 t1_jbpsc03 wrote

I’ve heard of her and Vonn and then Body Miller and Jeremy Bloom on the men’s side. Those are the only skiers I can think of.

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Markiemark1956 t1_jbpb5li wrote

Jean Claude Killy, Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blair, Peggy Fleming, stenmark… Gretzky… maybe I am just sports junkie

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eddie_dthfr t1_jbpd9we wrote

Bode Miller

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Markiemark1956 t1_jbpem03 wrote

He didn’t win much… maybe Phil Mahre

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ajkeence99 t1_jbpbsxb wrote

I didn't include hockey. I understand that it's on ice but I don't necessarily consider it a winter sport specifically. I also just mean to American's in general.

The reason I clicked here is because there was some sort of debate about sports on another platform and someone said something about Mikaela being the most dominant person in their sport ever. I had never even heard the name Mikaela and still had no clue who they were talking about. Not one other person had a clue who she was either.

I just don't think skiing is really that popular of a sport in the US. It's something I love to do (well, snowboarding) but I don't really catch myself watching it as a sport.

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elkourinho t1_jbqj641 wrote

Specifically in skiing the crowning achievement is the crystal globe anw, not the Olympics.

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ajkeence99 t1_jbqjn7j wrote

Something I've never even heard of, unfortunately.

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elkourinho t1_jbqlk4t wrote

Olympic medals are decided on one race per discipline, globes on like 8 races spread out over a season per discipline. And then there is the overall globe which is the person who gathered the most points overall. In skiing its very hard to be consistent at this level so the globes mean a lot.

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