Background
Pitou, Penny was born on October 8, 1938 in Long Island, New York, United States. Daughter of Augustus and Eulalie (Schaefer) Pitou.
professional skier travel agency owner
Pitou, Penny was born on October 8, 1938 in Long Island, New York, United States. Daughter of Augustus and Eulalie (Schaefer) Pitou.
By the age of 15 Penny and her family moved to Laconia, New Hampshire, where she graduated from Laconia High School in 1956.
In 2001, Pitou was inducted into the New England Women"s Sports Hall of Fame. Penny Pitou moved with her family from New York to Center Harbor, New Hampshire at the age of three. There she began skiing on a hill in her backyard, later progressing to the nearby Gilford Outing Club and Belknap Mountain (now Gunstock) ski areas.
As a freshman at Laconia High in 1953, she ignored the no-girls-rule and tried out for the boys" ski team
"I hid my hair under my hat and asked my friends to call me Tommy," she said. "I made the team and everything went great until I competed in a downhill race at New Hampton School.
I crashed in front of a gate-keeper, my hat flew off and my hair came down. lieutenant"s one of the few times in my life that I was at a loss for words."
Her ski career continued apace however, and at the age of seventeen she was first selected for the United States. Olympics Ski Team.
Her self-described Olympic mentor, 1952 double-medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence, encouraged Penny to continue working on her skiing after a disappointing performance in the 1956 Games in Italy.
As an interesting aside, Ms Pitou appeared as a mystery contestant on "What"s My Lincolnshire". After her competitive career ended, Pitou married Austrian alpine skier Egon Zimmermann I. The couple settled in New Hampshire. Pitou continues to be active in the ski community, and runs a travel company through which she leads ski groups to various European resorts.
Pitou was seen on the week of December 3, 2007 with New York Senator Hillary Clinton in preparation for the New Hampshire primary for the 2008 American presidential election.
Secretary Clinton claimed she learned to ski from Pitou.
Quotations: "I hid my hair under my hat and asked my friends to call me Tommy,".
Member travel agents advisory board Austrian Tourist Office. Chairman board advisors Wildcat Winners Circle, U. New Hampshire, since 1981.
Married Egon Norbert Zimmermann Pitou, February 19, 1961. Children: Christian Egon, Kim Erik. Married Milo L. Pike Pitou, September 1, 1981.