Christine Idris Smith (13 December 1946 – 8 May 1979Smith, Christine Idris (1946–1979) at the Australian Women's Register.) was an Australian alpine skier. She has been described as a "long-haired blonde with an 'all-Australian girl next door' image."Smith, Christine Idris (1946–1979) at the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Born in Cooma, Smith learned to ski at an early age. She was a "stylish and aggressive skier" who competed in the 1962 Commonwealth Winter Games and won the Thredbo Cup in Australia in 1963–64. At the 1964 Winter Olympics, Smith came 27th out of 43 in the downhill. She also came 28th and last in the slalom and was disqualified in the giant slalom.Harry Gordon, Australia and the Olympic Games (University of Queensland, 1994), p. 417. Her performances were affected by the death of a fellow competitor Ross Milne.
In 1965, while recuperating from a ski accident in Europe, she was enlisted to teach The Beatles to ski for their film Help!, and performed in the movie in a short skiing sequence. Smith competed in the World Ski Championships in Chile in 1966, and taught skiing at Thredbo and other venues before establishing an interior design business in 1974.
Personal life and death In 1977 she married Wayne Arthur Garland.
Smith died in 1979, at the age of 32. The cause of death was suicide.
References