Chris McNeill
Christopher Robert " Chris " McNeill ( born November 20, 1954 in Pueblo, Colorado, † February 5, 2011 in Steamboat Springs ) was an American ski jumper.
Career
McNeill, who grew up in Steamboat Springs, 1972 U.S. junior champion and was taken a short time in the U.S. national team later. In the Four Hills Tournament 1972/73 he reached the 79th place in the opening event in Oberstdorf. The highest individual score of the tour, he reached rank 58 in Innsbruck. In the overall standings, he landed on the 77th Place. In the Four Hills Tournament 1975/76 he was able to increase slightly, so that he finished the tour as 68. He was given a starting place for the Olympic Winter Games 1976, but did not as a substitute for use.
His most successful Four Hills Tournament 1976/77 began with McNeill rank 40 on the Schattenbergschanze in Oberstdorf, what was the best individual result at a Four Hills Tournament in the sequence. In the other jumping he could not tie it and ended the tour ranked 42nd overall.
In the Nordic World Ski Championships 1978 in Lahti, he started in all three jumping competitions. From the normal hill McNeill landed after jumps of 75 and 77 meters on the 33rd. From the large hill he landed at 79 and 89.5 meters and so was ranked 49th Together with Jeff Denney, Jeff Davis and Jim Denney, he landed in the team competition at the 10th and last place.
At the Olympic rehearsal in 1979 in Lake Placid, he won the normal hill. In addition, he was short on at the U.S. Championships third parties.
On December 30, 1979 McNeill was in the Four Hills Tournament 1979/80, made his debut in the World Cup Ski Jumping. However, he came in all jumping only on rear ranks. At the Olympic Winter Games in 1980, he went anyway at the start. When he finally last international competition, he just jumped on the normal hill and reaches rank 23
After his playing career McNeill worked as a trainer and got a job in 1986 at the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.. This he held until his death on February 5, 2011. McNeill died unexpected during the Winter Carnival street festival in Steamboat Springs on the way to hospital from a pulmonary embolism after his brother had called for an ambulance due to the poor health condition of McNeill.