Legendary Alpine Skiing Athletes : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Hermann Maier

Hermann Maier began entering alpine ski races at the age of five. When he was fifteen, a growth disorder forced him to give up the sport temporarily, during which time he worked as a bricklayer. >>>

Marielle Goitschel

The women's slalom race at the Innsbruck 1964 Olympic Winter Games was held on February 1,1964. >>>

Christine Goitschel

The women's slalom race at the Innsbruck 1964 Olympic Winter Games was held on February 1,1964. >>>

Henri Oreiller

With his ability to negotiate the slopes of Val d'Isère on one ski, Frenchman Henri Oreiller became known as “the acrobat”. >>>

Stephan Eberharter

The future looked rosy for 21-year-old Austrian alpine skier Stephan Eberharter when he won two gold medals at the 1991 World Championships. >>>

Michaela Dorfmeister

At the age of four, Michaela Dorfmeister was already spending hours hurtling down the slopes near her home in the small resort of Neusiedl in western Austria. >>>

Prior to Canadian Nancy Greene winning the 1967 inaugural World Cup series in alpine skiing, her previous best Olympic Winter Games finish had been a seventh place in downhill at the Innsbruck 1964 Games. >>>

Trude Beiser-Jochum

Trude Beiser was not quite 21 years old when she raced in the alpine skiing events at the St. Moritz 1948 Olympic Games. >>>

Franz Klammer

In 1975, Franz Klammer won eight of nine World Cup downhill races. When the Olympic Games came to Innsbruck the following year, there was great pressure on Klammer as a favourite competing in his home country of Austria. >>>

Janica Kostelic

While traveling on the junior alpine ski circuit in Europe, Janica Kostelic and her family did not have enough money to stay in hotels, so they slept in tents and in their car. >>>

Alberto Tomba

Charismatic Alberto Tomba of Italy made his first Olympic appearance in Calgary in 1988, winning both the giant slalom and the slalom. >>>

Petra Kronberger

Austrian Petra Kronberger was such a well-rounded skier that, in December 1990, she won a World Cup race in four different alpine events and then added a super combined victory the following month. >>>

Jean-Claude Killy

After he won 12 of 16 World Cup races during the 1966-67 season, French sports fans hoped that Jean-Claude Killy would sweep all three alpine skiing events when the Olympic Winter Games were staged in Grenoble in 1968. >>>