Michael McCormack Lafferty (born May 20, 1948) is a former

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alpine ski racer from the

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. He specialized in

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and had two World Cup podiums and eleven top ten finishes, all in downhill. His best finish in the World Cup season standings was in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

: third in downhill and ninth overall.

Early years

Born in Eugene,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, Lafferty was the third and youngest son of Paul and Jean Lafferty. His father Paul (1910–92) was a college ski team coach in the 1930s and an

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in the famed

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of the

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. Lafferty learned to ski at

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and raced as a junior for the Bend Skyliners at Mt. Bachelor. Following graduation from

South Eugene High School South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. History The school was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that late ...

in 1966, he followed his brother Peter to the

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. He raced for the Buffaloes for two years until named to the "B team" of the

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in December 1968, then promoted to the "A team" later that month.

Racing career

Lafferty's first top ten result in a World Cup race was in December 1969, with a fifth place in a downhill at

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. At the

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in Japan, Lafferty finished 14th in the

. Two years earlier, he was 31st at the

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in Italy. Lafferty's best World Cup result was his first podium, a runner-up finish at Crystal Mountain,

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, in February 1972, the first event after the Olympics. The next day he had a fourth-place finish in another downhill and ascended another podium in Italy a few weeks later. Before the Olympics, he finished just off the podium in mid-January with a fourth place at storied

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. His third-place finish in the World Cup downhill season standings in 1972 was the best by an American male until

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, when

Daron Rahlves Daron Louis Rahlves (born June 12, 1973) is a former American World Cup alpine ski racer and freestyle skier. Biography Born in Walnut Creek, California, and raised in Northern California, Rahlves attended the Green Mountain Valley School in ...

finished second. (Other third-place finishers were Bill Johnson in

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and A.J. Kitt in

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.) Rahlves finished second again in

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and

Bode Miller Samuel Bode Miller ( ; born October 12, 1977) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, a two-time overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008, and the most successful male America ...

was also second in

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and

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. Through

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, a U.S. male has yet to win the season title in the downhill discipline.

After racing

Following his final season in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, Lafferty returned to Oregon to help manage the family's successful cold storage business in Eugene and Albany. He briefly raced on the pro circuit in North America.

World Cup results

Season standings

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

Top ten finishes

* 2 podiums - (2 DH) * 11 top tens - (11 DH)

References

External links

*
Mike Lafferty
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation * *
University of Colorado Olympians
– 1972 Sapporo – alpine skiing – Michael Lafferty

– about us
Getty Images
– 1972 Winter Olympics – alpine skiing – Mike Lafferty {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafferty, Mike 1948 births Living people American male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of the United States Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Eugene, Oregon 20th-century American people