Picabo Doc Peeks into Iconic Olympic Skier’s Life

Throughout much of skiing’s history, Europeans dominated the highest levels of competition—until a young Picabo Street came on to the scene and took home the downhill silver medal at the 1994 Olympics and returned to win gold in the super G in 1998 for the U.S. Despite the perfect facade of Street and her all-American family, there were plenty of struggles behind the scenes. For the first time ever, Picabo tells her story in full, from her tumultuous home life in Idaho to her Olympic successes, major injuries and 2015 arrest.

Street’s unlikely success in the ’90s served as inspiration to many young American skiers who hadn’t thought it was possible to win on the big stage. Among those she inspired was Lindsey Vonn, who would later win a gold medal herself in the downhill Olympic competition. Vonn wanted to pay tribute to her idol and mentor and was able to team up with veteran filmmaker and former U.S. Olympic Committee VP Frank Marshall to do so.

“We were looking for stories to coincide with the Winter Games in Beijing,” says Marshall, who has also been producing a series on great Olympians for the Olympic Channel. “Lindsey Vonn brought this idea to us, and she was gracious enough to recognize that maybe she needed help on the directing side. It was pretty much natural because I know Picabo, I love skiing and I love the Olympics.” He also notes an interesting parallel: “Picabo was Lindsey’s mentor in skiing, and I became Lindsey’s mentor in filmmaking.”

The trio of Vonn, Marshall and Street seems fated when looking back on their shared history. Unbeknownst to them until they began working on the documentary, they had actually walked together in the opening ceremony of the 2002 Olympic Games. “It was Picabo’s last Olympics, Lindsey’s first Olympics, and I was on the U.S. Olympic Committee,” Marshall notes. “We really had a bonding experience back in 2002, even though we didn’t know it.”

This bonding experience is what allowed Street to trust Vonn and Marshall with her life story. “For Lindsey, as teammates, there’s the sacred bond of you just protect one another forever,” Street tells TV Real Weekly. She worked with Marshall on an IMAX piece years ago for Right to Play, and they “became friends, and then kept in touch all along throughout my career. I know what a fan he is, and I know how protective he is of us.”

This feeling of protection was necessary for Street to open up about the parts of her story that she worked so hard to hide for most of her career, including the family secret of a rough and at times abusive home life. In 2015, this secret came to light when she was arrested following an altercation with her father. The misdemeanor charges were later dismissed, but the hidden piece of her story was finally out there for everyone to see.

Picabo gave her the chance to share the full details for the first time, and though it was difficult and scary, Street felt she had to so that people who have also experienced—or are currently experiencing—a turbulent home life would feel seen. “People that are in that situation can see me and see what’s possible from that situation,” she says. “There’s a personal kinship there that I want people to know: I see you. I see you with your shield up. I see you in your battle. I pray for your strength during your battle, and I pray for your freedom one day to excavate and heal. People need to be seen. It’s important.”

The idea of others learning her true story and potentially casting judgment was daunting, but Street says she’s “gotten to a spot where it’s like, what have I been through in my life, and how can I make other people’s lives better with it? Therefore, you get brave and share.”

Another reason Street was willing to participate so fully in the documentary was for her boys. “I did it for my children because I’m 50 now, and while I can still ski and it’s fun, my boys have never seen me do anything that I did during my career,” she says. “It’s so fun for them to see mom and see who mom was and understand about my career and how fast I used to go.”

Her life and career were in good hands with Marshall, who has been in the filmmaking business a long time. He has worked on a wide range of projects, from Raiders of the Lost Ark to The Color Purple to The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, but at the heart of every project is “the same component: a great story.” And, in this case, “Picabo was just different. She followed her dream, let nothing stand in her way. She was unapologetic.”

The documentary arrived on Peacock just in time for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, allowing viewers a glimpse into what kinds of things may be going on behind the scenes for the world’s greatest athletes. Picabo shows that “we’re all human,” Marshall says. “You’ll learn that these great Olympians are not superheroes, they’re really just human beings.”

Sports fans or not, Marshall says Picabo “will give other people the chance to follow their dreams and realize that it can be done because, if you look at where Picabo came from, and she got to the top of the mountain, I think anybody can do it.”