Before commencing this week’s column, here’s a trivia question to test your sports knowledge. Who are the only two Enumclaw athletes to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated? (answer below).
This Feb. 13th photo captured Judy Nagel, an Enumclaw girl in the first of two heats at the 1968 Olympics. Judy was participating in the women’s slalom where she led all competitors after the first heat on the Chamrousse ski slopes near Grenoble, France. She lost her chance for a gold medal after falling on her second run. Two days later an irreverent Seattle Times reporter wrote, “Judy Nagel, an impatient 16, came down the mountain like an avalanche. She hit more poles than a playboy trying to stagger home on ice at 4 o’clock in the morning.”
As a 15-year-old, Judy and fellow skier, Kiki Cutter climbed Mt. Rainer for a training exercise. Nagel and Cutter were the U.S. media stars of that year’s Olympics as Judy quickly rose to the top of the women’s skiing world. Jean-Claude Killy was perhaps the most famous male skier of that era.
After the 1968 Olympics, Judy returned home and won the U.S. Alpine Championships held at Crystal. Over her short career, Nagel won three races, captured 12 medals at World Cup events, and had 29 top-ten finishes. Judy graduated from Enumclaw High School in 1969. In April 1970, she retired from competitive skiing, as did her friend, Kiki Cutter, age 20.
Still, Judy Nagel remains the youngest American, at 17 years, five months, and 13 days to win a World Cup event, which she did in 1969. She was three months younger than Mikaela Shiffrin, who has so far captured 83 during her career and is the most decorated American alpine skier in history. Her sister, Cathy Nagel was also an accomplished skier winning three gold medals at the 1968 World Winter University Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
She and Cathy grew up in Skykomish, Wash., daughters of Jack Nagel, a 1952 Olympic skier, and his wife, Donna (Allen). They skied at Stevens Pass until Crystal Mountain opened in 1962. Jack moved his family to Enumclaw where he started a Crystal Mountain ski school and racing program, while Donna ran the ski and rental shop. Jack was a third-generation logger before taking up skiing when the sport gained popularity in America during the 1940s. Jack passed away in 2004 and Donna in 2019.
Judy later ran the Crystal Mountain Ski Shop and spent years living in the mountains around Crystal and Sun Valley, but always skiing. She married Robert G. Johnson in June 1986. Today Judy lives in Palm Springs and skis at Big Bear, a 90-mile drive north, but still has a cabin in Bothell, WA. This photo and background information comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah researcher and historian.
ANSWER: The two Enumclaw athletes who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated are Cathy Nagel (Feb. 11, 1963), and Paul Gunderson, Harvard rowing (June 25, 1965). For those who answered Kasey Kahne, the celebrated racecar driver appeared on the covers of Nascar Illustrated (March 2005, July 2006, May 2007, May 2008, July 2010) plus Sporting News (July 22, 2005), but not Sports Illustrated.
