Doris Barbara “Dodie” Post Gann (1922-2012) was an

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

in the 1948 and 1952

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. Post later became an accomplished sailor and conservationist with her husband, author and screenwriter Ernest K. Gann.

Ski racing

Post was a member of the Reno Ski Club while growing up in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...

and attending the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

, Reno. Post was selected as captain of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Woman's Ski Team for the San Moritz, Switzerland Olympics. However, she unable to compete due to a broken ankle. In 1950, Post was made captain of the FIS World Championship's ski team in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. She competed in the 1952 Olympics in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

. For the 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy, Post served on the ski team selection committee and as team manager.

Sailing

Post met author Ernest K. Gann while he was skiing in Lake Tahoe. Gann invited Post to help sail ''Albatros'' from Holland, through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, to its new home in the San Francisco Bay. Post and Gann married and spent three years sailing the ''Albatros'' throughout the South Pacific. The ''Albatros'' was used in the movie

Twilight for the Gods ''Twilight for the Gods'' is a 1958 American Eastmancolor adventure film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Rock Hudson and Cyd Charisse. The story is based on the novel ''Twilight for the Gods'' by Ernest K. Gann (though the opening credi ...

based on Gann's novel. It was later sold to a sailing school and sank in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

, after encountering a severe storm. The 1996 movie

White Squall A white squall is a sudden and violent windstorm at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. It manifests as a sudden increase in wind velocity in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and may be a mic ...

, starring

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

, depicts the saga. Post and Gann moved to

San Juan Island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census. Washington State Fe ...

in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, where their yachting continued for the remainder of their lives.

Conservationism

Post and Gann made the first donation to the San Juan Preservation Trust in 1980, by donating 38 acres of their Red Mill Farm to the trust. Post served as either a trust board member or an emeritus adviser for the remainder of her life. After Post's death in 2012, the remaining 738 acres were donated to the trust as a working agricultural preserve. A life-long dog lover, Post was also a founding member of the Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor.

Death and honors

Post died in Friday Harbor,

on December 24, 2012. Post was elected to the

Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973. Post was elected to the

US Ski Team The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and a ...

Hall of Fame in 2001. The annual "Dodie Gann Memorial Dog Walk" is held each year in Friday Harbor.

References

External links

US Ski Team Hall of Fame - Dodie Post GannUniversity of Nevada Athletic Hall of Fame - Dodie Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Dodie 1922 births 2012 deaths American female alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of the United States Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics 21st-century American women