Sho-Ban artist designs helmet

Speed Thrills in Contest for Vonn’s Helmet

By Bill PenningtonThe American alpine racer Lindsey Vonn held a public contest to design the helmet she will wear at the Vancouver Games, and she announced Thursday that the winning entry belonged to Laddie Lee Whitworth, a 60-year-old retired machinist from Pocatello, Idaho.

Two of the other three finalists were professional designers or artists, but Whitworth is an amateur artist who worked for 37 years in a cement factory. He is also a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes at Idaho’s Fort Hall reservation.

Whitworth’s design is red, white and blue, with flames flowing from front to back, like something on the fenders of a drag racing car. There is an American flag just over the helmet’s brow.Comment:  For more on Native art at the Olympics, see Aboriginal Art Bottle Program and Musqueam Design on Team Canada Jerseys.