Phil and his twin brother Steve, who was born four minutes later, on May 10,
1957 at White Pass, Washington, USA, had a long and friendly rivalry that culminated at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, when Phil won the gold medal in the slalom and Steve got the silver medal.
Phil and Steve are two of nine children (five girls and four boys) and learnt to ski from their father, who was a great slalom and giant slalom specialist and a decent runner in the down hill. His main rivals during the early eighties, when he was the first American skier to win the World Cup, and the third-ever to conquered three in a row, was the Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark. The twins were well-known as rebels who preferred racing motorcycles during the Summer than following the training regime recommended by US ski team.

Phil exploded onto the World Cup circuit. He got his first win on December 10, 1976, in Val d'Isere, in GS, and a few months later, at Sun Valley, in his native-country where he took his first win in slalom. The 1977-78 and 1978-79 season saw him definitively ascend the rankings of the World Cup. He conquered four World Cup successes, two slaloms, one Giant Slalom, and a combined event, to finish second in the Overall standings.

However, in March of 1979 he suffered a severely broken left ankle in a race at Lake Placid and a metal plate and seven screws had to be inserted! Less than six months after suffering the crash he was back skiing, and less than a year later he won the gold medal in the combined and the silver medal in slalom at the Olympic Games held on home snow in Lake Placid.

He was back in perfect shape for the 1980-81 campaign by winning three combined events, one giants slalom and two slaloms, the last in Furano, Japan, to take his first overall World Cup. Twelve months later he lifted three trophies at the end of an unforgettable season. He won the overall World Cup also triumphing in the Giant Slalom and Slalom world cup, an outstanding performance. He took the highest step of the podium on eight occasions taking four slalom wins, three combined successes and just one Giants Slalom triumph.

He entered definitively into the legends hall of fame at the end of the following 1982-83 season conquering his third Overall World Cup and the second GS world cup, after six victories, the last of which was once again in Furano.

March 19, 1983, is a date to remember because it was his last World Cup win. 27 wins, 21 second places and 21 third ranks are his career achievements in the World Cup, but his career was not over yet.

At the Olympic Games in Sarajevo, during the 1984 winter, he won the gold medal in slalom, with his brother taking the silver and when he was on the way to the medal ceremony, he learnt that his wife had given birth to their second child and first son.

Phil retired shortly after the Olympics and now the twins are owner of the ‘Mahre Training Center' in the Deer Valley and their motto is ‘ski your best, learn from the best'.