Voting Station

Bill Johnson (Skier)

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Athlete

The Resume

    (March 30, 1960-January 21, 2016)
    Born in Los Angeles, California
    Skier
    Won the gold medal in men’s downhill at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics (1984)
    Portrayed by Anthony Edwards in the TV movie ‘Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story’ (1985)

Why he might be annoying:

    At 17, he was caught trying to steal a car.
    He had a tattoo on his arm that read ‘Ski To Die.’
    He was cocky, declaring at Sarajevo, ‘They should hand the gold to me. Everyone else can fight for second place.’
    He never won another major race after his Olympic victory.
    He was suspended from the US ski team after getting into a fight in the locker room with an assistant coach (1988).
    He tried unsuccessfully to organize a pro skiing circuit to compete with the World Cup.
    He wound up bankrupt and living in a mobile home.

Why he might not be annoying:

    The judge in his car theft trial, upon learning that Johnson was an excellent skier, offered him a choice between six months in jail or attending the Mission Ridge ski academy.
    He was the first athlete from a non-Alpine country to win an Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing.
    His thirteen-month-old son Ryan drowned in a jacuzzi (1992).
    He crashed during a training run (March 22, 2001) and spent three weeks in a coma.
    He suffered severe brain damage and required constant care for the rest of his life.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 58 Votes: 70.69% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 145 Votes: 59.31% Annoying