Who was the first U.S. skier to win an Olympic gold medal? Try Tacoma’s Gretchen Fraser
She was one of Tacoma’s most famous athletes, and she was the first American to win Olympic gold in alpine skiing, yet few in her hometown know Gretchen Fraser’s name.
Fraser, then 28, took home the top prize in slalom in the 1948 Olympic Games in St. Mortiz, Switzerland. She appeared on the cover of Wheaties boxes and the backs of comic books. Her skiing accomplishments were highlighted in The New York Times, TIME Magazine and elsewhere. She was a stand-in for ice skater and actress Sonja Henie in two films. Multiple statues of Fraser stand the ski resort in Sun Valley, Idaho. A restaurant and run at the resort are named after her. She even had a beer named after her. During her time, Fraser — who passed away in 1994 at the age of 75 — was a national celebrity.
Despite her national fame and distinguished career, Fraser remains relatively unknown in Tacoma and in the South Sound, despite attending Stadium High School (1937 grad) and the University of Puget Sound. Fircrest resident John Bechtholt has made it his personal mission to remedy that fact.
Four years ago, Bechtholt was sitting inside a Starbucks cafe when he picked up a book someone left in the book-sharing bin, titled ‘Gretchen’s Gold.’ The book, penned by Luanne Pfeifer, chronicles Fraser’s life and skiing career.
Bechtholt, who was born and raised in Tacoma, grew up going on family ski trips to Sun Valley, so he knew who she was. But imagine his surprise when he read that she grew up in Tacoma.
“She’s from Tacoma, but it seemed like she had fallen off the face of the earth here,” Bechtholt said. “I’m thinking, ‘Why have I not heard this?’”
FROM EUROPEAN ROOTS
The story starts with German immigrant Willibald Alphons Kunigk and his wife, Clara Andersen Kunigk, who was from Tonsberg, Norway. Clara gave birth to two children, William and Gretchen. Willibald was a well-respected engineer and was the longtime head of the city’s water utility, where he served for 39 years, garnering national recognition for his work in the water supply industry.
Clara grew up skiing in Norway and passed her love of the sport to Gretchen, gifting her a pair of skis in 1932, when she was 13 years old. Gretchen’s first experience with the sport came at Mount Rainier’s Paradise Valley. She quickly took to the sport and became the president of the ski club at the University of Puget Sound. She married Don Fraser, also an Olympic skier, in 1939.. Gretchen Fraser would have represented the United States in the 1940 Olympics, but they were canceled due to World War II.
During the war years, she worked in Sun Valley as a rehabilitation nurse for wounded veterans, many of whom became amputees during the war. Her Olympics opportunity finally came during the 1948 Winter Olympics, held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. By that time, Fraser was 28, somewhat old for an Olympic athlete.
In the special slalom, Fraser drew bib No. 1, considered a difficult draw. Since she was up first, she couldn’t see a course chartered by other competitors. On the first run, she posted a time of 59.7 seconds. The next day, wearing her hair in her signature pigtails, she flew down the slope clocked in 57.5 seconds, besting her first time. She watched as her competitors took their turns at trying to beat her combined two-day total. No one did, and she became the first American to win gold (or any medal) in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics.
Her husband, Don, was back in Vancouver, Washington, where the Frasers were now living. His phone rang off the hook. Over two days, Gretchen did around 150 interviews. She went to Norway to visit her mother’s relatives and while there, was invited by the prince of Norway for an audience. Believe it or not, it wasn’t the first time she had met Prince Olav. She had skied with him on Mount Rainier, when she was part of the welcoming committee hosting Olav when he came to visit Washington eight years previously.
Her victory tour continued. She returned to Tacoma, where she was the queen of the Daffodil Parade. The Tacoma Athletic Commission threw her a huge party at the Top of the Ocean restaurant on Ruston Way. The Top of the Ocean was a popular restaurant and nightclub resembling a luxury ocean liner, occupying the space near what’s now the Northern Fish Co. It opened in 1946 and became a popular venue for meetings, parties and other events. It stood until 1977, when an arsonist set fire to the landmark building.
In the following years, Fraser went on to serve as an Olympic ski coach and also got involved with the Paralympics. She coached several U.S. Olympic winners, such as Andrea Mead, Christin Cooper, Picabo Street and Muffy Davis. She was also a pilot and brought international attention to Sun Valley after her Olympics win. Don and Gretchen spent their retirement years in Sun Valley. Gretchen passed away at age 75 in February 1994, a month after Don.
A LEGACY WORTH PRESERVING
Bechtholt, a soft-spoken, contemplative man, stood inside his tidy Fircrest home on Feb. 8. The Winter Olympics had begun in Bejing, China a few days earlier, so the timing couldn’t be better to display the collection of Gretchen Fraser memorabilia that he’s accumulated.
Every inch of his dining room table, its adjoining chairs and the living room coffee table are blanketed with memorabilia he’s either purchased or printed off: photographs, newspaper articles, the cards from the Wheaties box, comic books featuring Fraser and more.
“I think her story needs to be told again,” Bechtholt says.
He plans to give most of the materials to local museums, so more people in the Tacoma area can learn about her story. He has also reached out to Stadium High School and UPS to see what other forms of recognition the schools may be interested in putting together. He’s gone to the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room and has assisted with putting together a file on Fraser.
“They didn’t know how famous she was,” he said.
While Bechtholt never actually met Fraser, he has a deep admiration for her achievements, what she did for the sport in the U.S. and the sterling reputation she held for so many years.
“She’s a lady, she was well-liked,” he said. “I’ve met a couple people who met her and they just say great things about her. She was really committed to skiing.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
