Marc Girardelli
1990/91, 1992/93 )
1994/95 )
Marc Girardelli ( born July 18, 1963 in Lustenau, Vorarlberg, Austria) is a former alpine ski racer from Austria, who started for almost his entire career for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. He is one of the most successful racers: He won the overall World Cup five times (a record at the alpine men) and 46 World Cup races (4th place ) at 100 podiums (2nd place). He is also one of the few athletes who were winners in all alpine disciplines, and among these the one with the most wins in the men's. At the World Championships he won eleven medals ( four gold, four silver, three bronze ) in Olympic games, he was second twice. Since his retirement in 1997 Girardelli has been an entrepreneur.
Sports career
Girardelli, whose ancestors came from Italy, learned to ski at the age of five years. In 1971 he took part in the first race and children in the same year Vorarlberg slalom national champion in his age category. 1975 and 1977 he won the Trofeo Topolino. In 1976, he joined the age of twelve by the Austrian Ski Association of the Luxembourg, as father Helmut Girardelli accused the Austrian Ski Federation to encourage his son to little. However, Marc Girardelli repented afterwards and said publicly in 2013, that decision for Luxembourg was " idiotic ".
1978 drove Girardelli the first FIS races and visited up to this year's secondary school in Dornbirn. The high school he took up in 1987 after a distance learning program. On February 26, 1980, he started for the first time in a World Cup race, the giant slalom in Waterville Valley, and drove to 13th place. Less than a year later, on 25 January 1981, he reached his first podium as second in the slalom in Wengen. In the 1981/82 season four more podiums followed in the giant slalom. His first World Cup victory he celebrated on 27 February 1983, when he won the slalom in Gällivare.
End of the 1982/83 season Girardelli suffered such severe injuries on his left knee that he has since can not bend properly and this was declared by the insurance company to 15% as part of an invalid. Despite this impairment Girardelli was able to increase his performances, won five races in the 1983/84 season, was third in the overall World Cup and was the first in the slalom standings. At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, he was not allowed to start because it was only in 1987, the Luxembourg nationality.
In the World Ski Championships 1985 in Bormio Girardelli could, however, go to the start; he finished second in the slalom and third in the giant slalom. In the World Cup he won eleven races ( including his first super -G) and has a wide margin for the first time overall World Cup winner, were added to the first place in the Giant Slalom and in the slalom standings. In 1986 he once again decided the overall standings for himself, although he was only able to win a race and two combinations.
The services in the slalom, Girard Ellis once strongest discipline, subsided. Instead, he focused increasingly on the faster disciplines ( in February 1986 he had in Åre his first podium in the downhill achieved ). In the World Ski Championships 1987 in Crans -Montana, he won three medals at the gold in the combination was followed by two silver in Super -G and giant slalom. At the very end of the 1986/87 season he scored three World Cup victories and finished the World Cup on the second place. The 1987/88 season did not go as desired. The only countable result at the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary in 1988 was the ninth place in the downhill. It was not until near the end of the season he gained five podiums again his usual level of performance.
In winter 1988/89 Girardelli was again among the best ski racers in the world. He won eight World Cup races, including the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel and both Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen. In all disciplines, he stood at least once at the top of the podium. Girardelli heard next Pirmin Zurbriggen, Günther Mader, Kjetil André Aamodt and Bode Miller of the small number of male ski athletes to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines. In the World Ski Championships 1989 in Vail, he defended his title in the combination and won the slalom bronze medal. At the end of this successful season he was made for the third time as the winner of the overall World Cup and one each for the first time of departure and the Combination Cup. He was honored in 1989 for the first time by the International Association of Ski Journalists with the Skieur d'Or, in 1991 he received the award for a second time.
In December 1989 Girardelli crashed in the Super G in Sestriere difficult and withdrew - as it seemed at first - a back bruised. This turned out to be but a few weeks later than hamstring the water's edge bone out what an operation made necessary. Because of the one-sided burden he had to have surgery on his left knee also. The rehabilitation period he used to purchase the license for helicopter flight. In the following winter he was able to continue his winning streak: he won three World Cup races, the slalom gold medal at the World Ski Championships 1991 in Saalbach- Hinterglemm, for the fourth time overall World Cup and the World Cup ratings in slalom and in the combination.
The 1991/92 season was a single World Cup victory compared to the previous winter less successful. At the Olympic Winter Games in Albertville in 1992 Girardelli missed the intended Olympic victory was scarce and the Super-G and Giant Slalom second. In the season 1992 /93 Girardelli again proved to be the best skier in the world and decided with only three wins and despite torn ACL for the fifth time overall World Cup itself. In the World Ski Championships 1993 in Morioka again came two silver medals added, in the slalom and bronze in the combination.
In the winter of 1993/94 it was enough only for a win in a super -G. Without having a single exit won, he was at the end of the season in first place in the downhill standings. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, he finished fourth in the Super- G and fifth in the downhill. 1995 Girardelli was in poor health, but was able to win two World Cup combination ratings. He celebrated his last major success at the World Ski Championships in 1996 in the Sierra Nevada by winning the third World Champion title in the combination. After another serious knee injury in December 1996, he decided to end his athletic career.
Activities as an entrepreneur
After retiring from professional racing Girardelli was an entrepreneur and turned to tourism. His "Alpenhotel" on the Boedele above Dornbirn burned down in September 2001, in part, in January 2005, he sold the burned-out shell. Girardelli initiated the construction of the Alpine Centre opened in January 2001 in Bottrop, the longest indoor ski slope in the world. After the company almost went bankrupt, he joined in February 2004, returned as CEO and sold his shares in the Dutch hotel group Van der Valk.
Since 2004 Girardelli Skievents organized in various ski resorts in Europe and also in Portillo, Chile. In addition, he took a consulting position at the Bulgarian Ski Federation and promoted since the ski resorts Bansko and Vitosha near the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Since 2005 he publishes its own Kinderskimode line, which bears the name Marc Girardelli skiwear.
Private
Marc Girardelli is married since 2005 with Andrea Palenov ( born Donat ) and lives with her and their two children in Switzerland.
Achievements
Olympic games
- Calgary 1988: 9 Departure
- 1992 Albertville: 2 Super -G, Giant Slalom 2nd
- Lillehammer 1994: 4 Super -G, downhill 5
World Championships
- Alpine World Ski Championship 1985: 2nd Slalom, Giant Slalom 3
- Alpine World Ski Championships 1987: 1st combination, 2 Super -G, Giant Slalom 2nd, 4th slalom, downhill 7
- Alpine World Ski Championships 1989: 1st combination, 3rd slalom, 4 Giant Slalom, Super-G 14
- Alpine Ski World 1991 1st slalom, giant slalom 5th, 9th departure
- Alpine World Ski Championship 1993: 2nd slalom, third combination, 7 Giant Slalom
- Alpine World Ski Championships 1996: 1st combination, exit 18, 18, Super -G
Total and discipline World Cup
Marc Girardelli has won the World Cup five times ( 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993), plus ten more victories in discipline ratings.
World Cup wins
Total Marc Girardelli has won 46 World Cup races (3 runs, 9 Super -G, Giant Slalom 7, 16 slaloms, 11 combinations ).
Awards
Source
- World Sports Archives, Edition 21/1997 ( Munzinger archive)