The first and only US skier to have won the Overall World Cup, Phil Mahre was also a strong defender of "tradition" in ski racing. A slalom specialist at the start of his World Cup career in 1975, he worked hard to become a more complete skier by the end of his career in 1984. 5th in the Olympic GS race at Innsbruck in February 1976, Phil won his first race in December in Val d'Isere. In 1978 he took part in his first major downhill during the FIS World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen but missed the gold medal in the combined after skiing out in slalom. Mahre finished 2nd in the final World Cup standings that season. In 1979 he was again fighting for the Overall title when he broke a leg in a crash at the pre-Olympics in Lake Placid. But Phil fought back hard the next season and won his first gold medal in combined in 1980 as well as an Olympic silver medal in slalom on the same slope where he was seriously injured the year before. In 1981, he struggled in the early races, but came roaring back in the second half to beat his rival and friend Ingemar Stenmark by six points at the finals in Laax. In 1982, Phil refused to enter the combined events with new rules at the FIS World Championships at Schladming. His twin brother Steve beat Stenmark in the GS to win the gold medal. However, Phil easily repeated his success in the Overall World Cup.
In 1983, he had to fight even harder to get his third consecutive Crystal globe by staying traditional again. Mahre refused to enter the newly created Super-G races, a mixture of downhill and giant slalom run in a single leg. He gave up ski racing in March 1984 after another triumph at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo: A gold medal in slalom just ahead of his brother Steve.