Leslie Smith, the daughter of Killington founder Preston Smith, was inducted into the Middlebury College Hall of Fame on Nov. 2.
Smith, a member of the Middlebury College class of 1983, was Middlebury’s first four-time All-American. She finished second twice in the Giant Slalom at the AIWA National Championships (1980, 1982), and placed fourth in the Slalom in 1981. Smith was a three-time All-East selection who won 10 carnival events throughout her career. She placed in the top five during 82% of her collegiate races, earning top-three finishes 65% of the time. During her last year, she was one of five skiers to represent the United States at the 1983 World University Games in Bulgaria.
Prior to attending Middlebury, Smith won a Europa Cup Giant Slalom race in St. Gervais, France, catapulting her onto the world stage and the U.S. Ski Team at the age of 15, where she raced for five years. At age 17, she raced for the U.S. in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, competing in both the Downhill and Giant Slalom events. She became an overall Can-Am Champion in 1978.
Middlebury’s Hall of Fame, founded in 2014, commemorates the athletic performance and service of alumni, coaches, administrators, and staff dating back to the 1880s for men when baseball emerged as the first varsity sport, and back to 1934 for women when the ski team held a carnival for athletes of both genders.
