Penelope Theresa "Penny" Pitou (born October 8, 1938) is a former United States Olympic

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 ...

, who in 1960 became the first American skier to win a medal in the Olympic

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

event. In 2001, Pitou was inducted into the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

Women's Sports Hall of Fame. Pitou moved with her family from New York to Center Harbor, New Hampshire at the age of three. There she began skiing on a hill in her backyard, later progressing to the nearby Gilford Outing Club and Belknap Mountain (now Gunstock) ski areas. By the age of 15 Penny and her family moved to

Laconia, New Hampshire Laconia is a city in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,871 at the 2020 census, up from 15,951 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Belknap County. Laconia, situated between Lake Winnipesaukee and Lak ...

, where she graduated from Laconia High School in 1956 and attended Middlebury College, where she was a member of the class of 1960. As a freshman at Laconia High in 1953, she ignored the no-girls-rule and tried out for the boys' ski team. "I hid my hair under my hat and asked my friends to call me Tommy," she said. "I made the team and everything went great until I competed in a downhill race at

New Hampton School New Hampton School is an independent college preparatory high school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, United States. It has 305 students from over 30 states and 22 countries. The average class size is eleven, and the student-faculty ratio is five ...

. I crashed in front of a gate-keeper, my hat flew off and my hair came down. It's one of the few times in my life that I was at a loss for words."Joe Sullivan (November 15, 2001
Penny Pitou biography
Union Leader Sports. newhampshire.com. Her ski career continued apace however, and at the age of seventeen she was first selected for the U.S. Olympics Ski Team. Her self-described Olympic mentor, 1952 double-medalist

Andrea Mead Lawrence Andrea Mead Lawrence (April 19, 1932 – March 30, 2009) was an American alpine ski racer and environmentalist. She competed in three Winter Olympics and one additional World Championship (Olympic competitions also counted as the Worlds during t ...

, encouraged Penny to continue working on her skiing after a disappointing performance in the 1956 Games in Italy. Her perseverance paid off in 1960, when Pitou won silver medals for second place in both the

Downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

and Giant Slalom events at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. At the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958 in Austria, Pitou met the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n alpine skier Egon N. Zimmermann. They married in 1961, had two children, and settled in New Hampshire. The couple divorced in 1968.Egon N. Zimmermann
sports-reference.com Penny Pitou and Barry Goldwater Jr 1964

Pitou appeared as Miss X but not as the mystery guest on "What's My Line". She continues to be active in the ski community, and runs a skiing school and a travel company through which she leads ski groups to various European resorts. She was seen in December 2007 with New York Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in preparation for the New Hampshire primary for the 2008 American presidential election.Jill Zuckman (December 7, 2007
Downhill off agenda for now
Chicago Tribune

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitou, Penny 1938 births Alpine skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers Living people Sportspeople from New York (state) People from Center Harbor, New Hampshire Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Middlebury College alumni 21st-century American women