Evelyn PINCHING

Although she first wore a pair of skis when she was six, Evie Pinching only took up competitive skiing at the age of 19 in 1934, and the following year was the combined champion at the British Open Ski Championships. As the championship was open to competitors from other countries, it made her victory even more special. She also took part in the World Championships that year, 1935, finishing fourth in the downhill and fifth in the combined, but at Innsbruck the following year, she was a double gold medalist, winning the downhill and combined. She also took the silver in the slalom. After those championships, she stayed in Europe and trained the British Army ski force in the Tyrol. After the War, she coached the British ladies team for the 1948 Sankt Moritz Olympics.

Pitching was involved in a serious accident in 1948 when the car she was travelling in plunged over a precipice in Switzerland. She broke her back and fears that she would never walk again meant her skiing career would be over. Remarkably, two years later Pitching took part in the World Championships at Aspen, Colorado, as the only British representative. She arrived in the United States three months before the Championships, and worked as a waitress in Sun Valley, in return for free skiing and board.