Even if Brian Stemmle never wins a gold medal on the World Cup ski curcuit, he will definitely go down in history as one of the most courageous of athletes in a sport defined by courage. Stemmle's career, and his life, almost ended eight seasons ago when the Aurora skier crashed on the unforgiving Hahnenkamm course at Kitzbuehel, Austria, and suffered a broken pelvis and terrible internal injuries.
  But over the next couple of years he fought back, shocking the ski world by winning the gold medal at the 1990 Pan-American downhill championships in Las Lenas, Argentina, his first major race since the accident.
  Stemmle, considered one of the most talented natural ski racers on the circuit, has made it to the World Cup three times during his 13-year career on the national team, most recently a second-place finish at the downhill stop in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany two seasons ago - his first medal on the circuit in almost nine years. A stubborn knee injury put a damper on his performance last season, but Stemmle is determined not to leave the sport until he wins a gold medal on the World Cup circuit or captures a medal in either the downhill or Super-G events at the Nagano Olympics this February.
  Also a standout in golf and hockey, Stemmle's sister Karen was a long-time member of the women's national team.