{{Short description|American alpine skier (1938–1984)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox alpine ski racer |image = Betsy Snite 1960.jpg |caption = Snite at the 1960 Olympics |disciplines = Downhill, giant slalom, slalom, combined |club = |skis = |boots = |bindings = |sponsor = |birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1938|12|20}} |birth_place = Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1984|6|15|1938|12|20}} |death_place = Burlington, Vermont, U.S. |height = <!--{{height|ft=5|in=x}}--> |weight = |wcdebut = |retired = |website = |olympicteams = 2 – (1956, 1960) |olympicmedals = 1 |olympicgolds = 0 |worldsteams = 4 <!-- – (1950, 1952, 1954, 1956) --> ''includes two Olympics'' |worldsmedals = 1 |worldsgolds = 0 |wcseasons = |wcwins = |wcpodiums = |wcoveralls = |wctitles = |medaltemplates = {{MedalSport| Women's alpine skiing}} {{MedalCountry|the<br>{{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}} {{MedalSilver| 1960 Squaw Valley | Slalom}} <!--{{MedalWorldChampionships}}--> | show-medals = yes }} '''Betsy Baxter Snite''' (later ''Riley'', December 20, 1938 – June 15, 1984) was an American alpine ski racer<ref name=bsws>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wXBRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OBAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5365%2C4344575 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=Betsy 'swooshed' to a first and a second |date=January 10, 1959 |page=3, part 2 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref name=remrleg>{{cite news |url=http://www.stowetoday.com/stowe_reporter/columnist/remembering-riley-s-legacy/article_cb710a24-6952-5ee6-8c87-bf2b4eb194dc.html |newspaper=Stowe Reporter |last=Wolfe Stead |first=Nancy |location=Vermont |title=Remembering Riley's legacy |date=April 22, 2010 |access-date=March 2, 2015 }}</ref> and Olympic medalist. She competed in the Winter Olympics in 1956 and 1960 and won the silver medal in the slalom in the latter.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Snite grew up in Norwich, Vermont, and was U.S. slalom champion in 1955 at age 16, edging Olympic gold medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence.<ref name=dhskt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P4ZjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3XkNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4774%2C1086360 |newspaper=Nashua Telegraph |location=New Hampshire |title=Downhill ski title event today |date=March 12, 1955 |page=9 }}</ref> She participated in the giant slalom in 1956 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, but did not finish.
Four years later at Squaw Valley, Snite won the silver medal in the slalom.<ref name=ahwoly>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iFYrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GJ0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6764%2C5270456 |newspaper=Montreal Gazette |last=Sullivan |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Sullivan (journalist) |title=Anne Heggtveit wins Olympic slalom |date=February 27, 1960 |page=31}}</ref> In the giant slalom she finished fourth, but did not finish the downhill.<ref name=gtldh>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g1YrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GJ0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=7190%2C4135669 |newspaper=Montreal Gazette |agency=Canadian Press |title=German takes Ladies' downhill, Canadians trail |date=February 22, 1960 |page=17}}</ref> Shortly before the Olympics, she was on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated''.<ref name=pgklinst>{{cite news|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1960/02/01/those-pretty-girls-with-the-killer-instinct |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Terrell |first=Roy |title=Those pretty girls with the killer instinct |date=February 1, 1960 |page=34}}</ref>
According to the Vermont Ski Museum, Betsy learned to ski on Cemetery Hill in Norwich and with the Ford K. Sayre Memorial ski program. When she got too good, she trained with the Dartmouth College ski team.
She married Bill Riley in 1964, and they resided in Vermont at Stowe.<ref name=remrleg/> She died at age 45 in 1984, after a brief battle with cancer.<ref name=bsril>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ECLOmjk7FhwC&pg=PA50 |magazine=Skiing |title=Betsy Snite Riley, 1938–1984 |date=September 1984 |page=50}}</ref>
== Olympic results 50px == {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Year !! Age !! Slalom !! Giant<br> Slalom !! Super-G !! Downhill !! Combined |- || 1956 || ''17'' || — || DSQ || rowspan=2|<small>''not run''</small> || — || rowspan=2|<small>''not run''</small> |- || 1960 || ''21'' || style="background:silver;"|2 || 4 || DNF |}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Betsy Snite}} *[https://www.si.com/olympics/photos/2010/02/09/winter-olympics-si-cover/2 ''Sports Illustrated'' cover] – February 1, 1960 *{{sports-reference}} – Olympic results *[https://skihall.com/hall-of-famers/betsy-snite-riley/ U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame] – Betsy Snite *[http://www.vermontskimuseum.org/hall06.htm Vermont Ski Museum – Hall of Fame] *[https://www.vermontsportshall.com/2017sniteriley.html Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snite, Betsy}} Category:1938 births Category:1984 deaths Category:American female alpine skiers Category:Alpine skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics Category:Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Category:Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Category:Skiers from Vermont Category:20th-century American sportswomen
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