Alaska's Olympic medalists
A list of Olympic medal winners from Alaska.
• Kristen Thorsness, Anchorage, gold medal women's rowing eight with coxswain, 1984, Los Angeles - Thorsness, a West Anchorage High School graduate, is considered the first Alaskan to win an Olympic medal. She didn't start rowing until she attended college at Wisconsin. Recently took part in a 20-year reunion for the 1984 crew in Seattle this summer. She now works as a lawyer in Anchorage.
• Pat (Spurgin) Pitney, Fairbanks, gold medal women's air rifle event, 1984, Los Angeles - Then known as Pat Spurgin, Pitney was an 18-year-old college student at Murray State when she won her gold medal. She moved to Fairbanks after winning her gold, when her husband Randy Pitney took over as coach of the University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team and later became UAF's athletic director. Pat Pitney has been a volunteer assistant coach for the Nanooks for nearly two decades.
• Andrea Lloyd Curry, Sitka and Juneau, gold medal women's basketball, 1988, Seoul, South Korea - A former basketball player at Sitka and Juneau-Douglas high schools, Lloyd Curry was a forward for the U.S. women's team. Then known as Andrea Lloyd, she helped the University of Texas claim the 1986 NCAA title and went on to play professional basketball in Italy and later with the Columbus (Ohio) Quest of the ABL and then the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Now runs a women's business magazine in Minnesota.
• Hilary Lindh, Juneau, silver medal women's downhill skiing, 1992, Albertville, France - Lindh was the first Alaskan to win a medal in the Winter Olympics. She later won the 1997 World Championship in downhill and won five U.S. championships in downhill and Super-G events. Lindh, who started skiing at Juneau's Eaglecrest Ski Area and trained in Utah, is now attending the University of British Columbia.
• Tommy Moe, Palmer and Girdwood, gold medal men's downhill and silver medal men's Super-G skiing events, 1994, Lillehammer, Norway - The only multi-medal winner from Alaska, Moe opened the 1994 Olympics with his gold medal in the first event of the Games, then added his silver a few days later on his birthday. Moe grew up in Palmer, but attended school in Girdwood so he could ski at Alyeska Resort. He is co-owner of Class V Raft Company in Girdwood, but lives most of the year in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where he serves as ski ambassador for Jackson Hole Resort.
• Michele Granger, Anchorage, gold medal women's softball, 1996, Atlanta - A former University of California-Berkeley left-handed pitcher, Granger was already a member of the U.S. team when she moved to Anchorage because of her husband's job. She trained in Anchorage gymnasiums during the winter to prepare for the Olympics. She is now an assistant coach for the University of Tennessee softball team.
• Passion Richardson, Fairbanks, bronze medal women's 4x100-meter relay track event, 2000, Sydney, Australia - A former Lathrop High School runner, Richardson was an alternate on the 4x100 relay and ran in the first two heats before being replaced by Marion Jones in the final. She is now an assistant track coach at the University of Kentucky.
• Jarrett "JJ" Thomas, Fairbanks, bronze medal men's halfpipe snowboard event, 2002, Salt Lake City - Born in Fairbanks and a resident of the town while he was growing up, Thomas now lives in Golden, Colo. Also won the 2002 X Games superpipe event. Part of a gold-silver-bronze U.S. sweep in the Olympics halfpipe final. He is still competing on tour and the 2006 Winter Olympics.
• Matt Emmons, Fairbanks, gold medal men's 50-meter prone shooting event, 2004, Athens, Greece - A former University of Alaska Fairbanks shooter who moved to the state from New Jersey, Emmons nearly won two gold medals. Emmons led the standings in the 50-meter three-position event heading into the final shot of the match, but he mistakenly shot at a competitor's target and dropped to eighth place. Emmons also took ninth place in the air rifle event. He plans to train for the 2008 Summer Olympics while attending graduate school in Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Carlos Boozer, Juneau, bronze medal men's basketball, 2004, Athens, Greece - A 1999 Juneau-Douglas High School graduate who helped Duke win the 2001 NCAA title, Boozer was a key reserve at power forward for the Americans, who beat Lithuania 104-96 in the bronze-medal game. Boozer averaged 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds a game while shooting 62.5 percent from the field during the Olympics as the U.S. men posted a 5-3 record. Boozer will play for the Utah Jazz during the 2004-05 NBA season.