Charles Francis Felix McGrath (born March 13, 1963) is an American retired

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

alpine ski racer who competed in the Winter Olympics in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, and three

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Career

McGrath raced for the United States Ski Team on the World Cup circuit from 1984 through 1990, and had one podium finish in slalom, runner-up to Alberto Tomba at

Åre Åre () is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the local eco ...

. He finished that season third in slalom and fifteenth

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

. As of 1987, he was the top U.S. ski racer, but was ranked 57th in the world. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote of his criticism for the lack of competency among the coaches, who were "putting exaggerated pressure on the racers." He felt that the coaches were not attuned to the steps required to develop relatively inexperienced skiers and were not cognizant of the personal training regimes of individual team members. At the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, McGrath was tenth in the slalom. McGrath was national champion five times. He became a ski instructor and coach at Waterville Valley in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, and later for the ski team at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

. Ultimately, he became the head coach of the Norwegian women’s alpine team. He was named to ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

s 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Vermont in 1999. While a World Cup racer, McGrath made a commercial for

Alka-Seltzer Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States. Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) (ASA), sodium bicarbona ...

Plus, which was shown during the Super Bowl in January 1988.

World Cup results

Season standings

*Points were only awarded for top fifteen finishes (see scoring system).

Race podiums

* 1 podium – (1 SL), 5 top fives

World Championship results

Olympic results

Personal life

Born in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, McGrath grew up in

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, in the U.S. state of Vermont. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshir ...

, where his father Bob (1935–2019) was a longtime art history professor at nearby

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. McGrath married a Norwegian, Selma Lie, a cross-country ski racer for the

; their son Atle Lie McGrath (b.2000) is a World Cup alpine racer for the Norwegian ski team.

Video

YouTube
– Alka-Seltzer Plus commercial (1987)

References

External links

*

World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation *

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Felix 1963 births Living people American male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of the United States Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics People from Princeton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Vermont