Mead was born in
Rutland County, Vermont, to an alpine skiing family that owned and operated the
Pico Peak ski area. At age 14 she made the national team, and at age 15 competed in the
1948 Winter Olympics in
St. Moritz,
Switzerland, where she placed eighth in the
slalom. Two years later, Mead placed sixth in the
giant slalom and ninth in the
downhill at the
1950 World Championships in
Aspen,
United States. At the
1952 Winter Olympics in
Oslo,
Norway, Mead Lawrence was selected as captain of the U.S. women's team at age 19. This led to her being the January 21
Time cover-story, just days before the team arrived in Oslo. The
Time story was prescientshe won both the slalom and the giant slalom events. Between the 1952 and
1956 Winter Olympics, Mead Lawrence gave birth to three children, sitting out the
1954 World Championship season. Returning for the 1956 Winter Olympics, in
Cortina d'Ampezzo,
Italy, Mead Lawrence competed in all three disciplines, placing fourth in the giant slalom. In 1958, just two years after retiring from competition, Mead Lawrence was inducted into the U.S.
National Ski Hall of Fame. She was chosen as the penultimate torchbearer at the
1960 Winter Olympics in
Squaw Valley, US, passed it to American
1952 Olympic gold medal speed skater
Ken Henry, who circled the ice rink then ascended the Tribune of Honor and ignited the Olympic flame. == Olympic results ==