Paralympian Davis
saluted
Baldy ski run
renamed Muffy’s Medals; Tuesday declared Muffy’s Day
By GREG
STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Paralympian
Muffy Davis had more than a Sun Valley ski run named after her Tuesday
afternoon. A string of state and local dignitaries handed her
proclamations, plaques and congratulations. More than 100 people turned
out to offer Davis congratulations. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne declared April 2
Muffy Davis Day.
Davis
joined the ranks of three Olympic skiers and Wood River Valley residents:
the late Gretchen Frasier, Christin Cooper and former training partner
Picabo Street. Southern Comfort ski run on Seattle Ridge was renamed
"Muffy’s Medals" in honor of the three silver medals she
brought home from the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City.
"I can’t
imagine a better place to be than between Gretchen Frasier and Christin
Cooper, two amazing women from this valley," Davis said "This is
better than I ever dreamed it would be. Thank you so much for making my
dreams come true.
"What
a wonderful day. What a wonderful mountain. What a wonderful valley and
community of people. Thanks."
Sun Valley
Co. owner Earl Holding said it chokes him up to see Davis’ indelible
spirit.
"The
most outstanding moment for me was the day I came out and hugged you and
kissed you after you won your silver medal," Holding told Davis.
"It was the highlight."
The run
dedication Tuesday took place at the River Run base of Baldy. Before the
ceremony Davis, and about 50 friends and family, skied down the run
together. The Rev. Brian Baker of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Davis’
family church, blessed the run using Trinity Springs spring water.
Holding had
asked the 29-year-old mono-skier to select which run should be named in
her honor at the Paralympics at Snowbasin.
"The
tears came down her cheeks and they came down mine," Holding said.
"God bless you Muffy. I just can’t say enough good things about
you. We just think you’re the greatest."
Davis’
ski run area neighbors are also held in high esteem in the world of
skiing.
Frasier was
the first American woman to win an alpine ski medal. Cooper won a silver
medal at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.
"I was
so excited I cried in the bathtub after Mr. Holding told me," Davis
said. "I’ve had that goal of having a run named in my honor since I
was a kid.
"I
love the pitch of that run. I love to fly down it. In fact, I’ve gone so
fast the ski patrol has had to tell me to slow down. And it’s a great
family area. Maybe parents can tell the kids about how the runs got named,
and it’ll start those kids dreaming about winning their own Olympic
medals."
In February
1989, the 16-year-old Davis was training downhill on Bald Mountain when
she went off course at about 55 mph. She hit two trees and broker her T-6
vertebra and was instantly paralyzed.
That didn’t
keep her down.
She went on
to graduate from Wood River High School with a 3.9 GPA and, in 1995, from
Stanford University with a degree in human biology, with an emphasis on
psycho-social aspects of disability, and a 3.5 GPA.
And her
post-injury success didn’t end in the classroom.
This winter’s
silver medals in downhill, super-G and giant slalom at Snow Basin are just
the most recent in a long list of ski racing accolades.
The silvers
capped a phenomenal year for Davis, who also won the overall disabled
World Cup championship for the second year in a row.
She won
bronze in the 1998 Parlympics in Nagano, Japan.
She also
shared the honor of lighting the Paralympic cauldron before 50,000 people
in Rice-Eccles stadium where the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony was
held.
"This
lady is a lady of great class, who does it not only on the slopes, but in
life as well," Kempthorne said. "Muffy, God bless you for what
you mean to us, and thank you for the inspiration."