Book Excerpt

In 1952 at the age of 19, Andrea Mead Lawrence won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Oslo. She was the first American—man or woman—to do so and that record stands to this day. She is a natural athlete, to be sure, but what makes her such a world class performer is her astonishing ability to harness her mind, body and spirit to achieve her objectives.

Her amazing power to concentrate and explode on skis became apparent to the world during her historic runs in the 1952 Olympics. First, she won the giant slalom by an eternity of 2.2 seconds. Then, attacking her first run in the slalom, she caught a ski tip on a gate, spun around and slid downhill backwards. It looked like she was out of the running. But to everyone’s shock, she climbed back up the hill, pointed her boots through the gate and accelerated downhill again, managing to come in fourth on the first run. Her second run is best described by Andrea herself:

“I have no memory of anything going on around me. Language fails me but the way I define it, I was in what they call the zone—into the center of my energy. That’s where I moved into and that’s where I came from when I was released to the hill. It was one of those few times in life when I realized I’d become the very thing I was doing.”

She beat the next racer by two seconds and her combined time was good enough to take home a second gold medal. So spectacular was her victory, 50 years later at the 2002 Olympics in Park City, Andrea was honored as the greatest winter Olympian of all time. During his presentation of the award, Bud Greenspan, historian and filmmaker, noted that Andrea’s “fighting attitude” brought her success not only in sports but also “on a different side of the mountain.” It is the application of flow,which she defines as concentration, composure and confidence, to all the lanes of  her life that this story is really about.

Today Andrea, still a handsome woman in her seventies, lives in a modest condo in Mammoth Lakes, California with her two cats, Willow and Whisper. Not surprisingly, her home is near the giant ski resort which boasts the tallest mountains in the Sierras. Despite a bout with brain cancer, she still has the purposeful stride and natural good looks which bring to mind a young Katherine Hepburn.

To read the rest of Andrea’s story, buy a copy of Changing Lanes.