Richard "Dick" Durrance (October 14, 1914 - June 13, 2004) was an 17-time national championship skier and one of the first American skiiers to compete successfully with European skiiers.
Durrance, who was born in Tarpon Springs, Florida, moved with his family to Garmisch, Germany in 1928. In Germany, Durrance skied competitively, winning the German Junior Alpine Championship in 1932. He attended Dartmouth College in 1934 and won at Sestriere, Italy, the first American to dominate at a major European ski race. Durrance also won the U.S. men's downhill, slalom and Alpine combined events in 1937 and was named to the U.S. Olympic Team for the 1936 Winter Olympics, finishing eighth in the slalom and 11th in the downhill events.
Following World War II, Durrance was hired to manage the Aspen Ski Corporation in Aspen, Colorado. The struggling company was turned around by Durrance, who brought the 1950 World Championships to Aspen. Hosting the Championships put Aspen on the map and Aspen is now one of the most popular ski resorts in the United States. Durrance also produced a number of ski films and devoted most of his life to the promotion of the sport of skiing.
DickDurrance, a former Olympian and U.S. ski champion, died on June 13 of natural causes.
Once he stopped competing, Durrance took a job manufacturing skis in Denver, then became the general manager of the Aspen Skiing Co. To turn Aspen into a major skiing destination, Durrance contracted new lifts, ordered the building of new trails and designed the racecourse used for the 1950 FIS World Championships.
Durrance's life was chronicled in the biography, "The Man on the Medal." He was married to skier and photographer Margaret "Miggs" Durrance, who died in 2002.
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