For his efforts he was presented the Olympic Spirit medal, one of the rarest awards in the Games. Ski Team he survived as the top American downhiller for most of a decade, from the early 1970s through the early ’80s, and his 6th place finish in the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics downhill was the best American finish in the event in 24 years. As a junior ski racer in the late 1960s with the Aspen Valley Ski Club (as it was known then) he was one of the best in Colorado and the country. He’s been friend to all and made skiing sexy.” Through his ski-racing career, accolades in the sport, and ‘Ski With Andy Mill’ TV show he helped bring attention to skiing in Aspen. Ski Team and pro ski racer Dave Stapleton sums it up: “Having been his friend and competitor for many years, I’ve understood his ways as a person and someone that has given to his sport and way of life. When he’s inducted into the Aspen Hall of Fame on April 10, it will be an acknowledgment of his character as much as his accomplishments, his determination as much as his diverse talents, and his devotion to the town where he grew up, and that helped mold him into who he has become.Īspen native and former U.S. And, like everyone, “Millsy” has had his share of challenges. But as everyone knows, good things tend to follow hard work and high energy. I worked hard at them because I had a great desire to do well at them.” – Andy Millįor the many people familiar with the name Andy Mill, it may seem like he’s led a charmed life. I had many hobbies and sports that I loved. “Growing up in Aspen gave me the essentials to pursue life in the most healthy way. Evert later married golf champion Greg Norman, who at one time Mill considered his closest friend, although Norman and Evert would divorce after one year of marriage.Alongside Andy Mill, the Aspen Hall of Fame is inducting local theater legend Rita Hunter for her decades of work with Aspen Community Theatre and environmentalist Bruce Gordon for founding EcoFlight and leading outdoors and physical education in Aspen schools. Mill married tennis star and Olympian Chris Evert in 1988, although they would divorce in 2006. In addition to his work on television for skiing, he has hosted an outdoor fishing show on the OLN Network (later Versus). He won five Gold Cup tarpon tournaments and won the Triple Crown of tarpon fishing, winning the Gold Cup, Hawley, and Golden Fly events. Mill later took up tarpon fishing and became quite good at that sport as well. He then began a career in the ski industry, working as a ski racing commentator on television, and with a syndicated show that is shown in many of the major US ski areas, called “Ski with Andy Mill.” Mill skied the World Cup circuit from 1974-81 with seven top 10 finishes, all in downhill or combined. Despite this he finished sixth in the race, at that time the second best finish by an American in an Olympic downhill (Bill Beck had finished fifth in 1952). He was only able to compete, but only by taking off his ski boot prior to the start, and sticking his lower leg in the snow to basically freeze the painful area. At the 1976 Winter Olympics, he severely sprained his right ankle in training only a few days before the downhill. Andy Mill was primarily a downhiller, and was the best in the US in that event from 1974-81.
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