[2] Pitou moved with her family from New York to Center Harbor, New Hampshire at the age of three.

"I made the team and everything went great until I competed in a downhill race at New Hampton School.

Her self-described Olympic mentor, 1952 double-medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence, encouraged Penny to continue working on her skiing after a disappointing performance in the 1956 Games in Italy.

Her perseverance paid off in 1960, when Pitou won silver medals for second place in both the Downhill and Giant slalom events at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.

[1] She was seen in December 2007 with New York Senator Hillary Clinton in preparation for the New Hampshire primary for the 2008 American presidential election.