Ted Ligety
Theodore Sharp ( "Ted" ) Ligety ( born August 31, 1984 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American alpine skier. He is regarded as an all rounder, but is particularly successful in the discipline of giant slalom. He is a four -time world champion and two-time Olympic champion. In the World Cup he has so far won more than twenty races and decided five times the giant slalom discipline rating for themselves.
- 3.1 The Olympic Games
- 3.2 World Championships
- 3.3 Junior World Championships
- 3.4 World Cup ratings
- 3.5 World Cup wins
- 3.6 Nor- Am Cup
- 3.7 Further successes
Biography
Youth
Ligety, who has Hungarian ancestors, grew up in Park City. There he learned as a two year old skiing and took at the age of eleven years, first part in ski racing. From April 2000, he went FIS races, the first use in the Nor- Am Cup followed in February 2001. Alpine ski race in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were held in Ligetys Location Park City, so he volunteered as forerunners in the slalom of men. Although he retired at the Junior World Championship in 2003 in both the giant slalom and the slalom out, but the U.S. Ski Association paid tribute to his talent and took him a short time later in the Development team.
The additional funding led to an increase of Ligetys services. On November 22, 2003, he debuted in the World Cup, but could not qualify for the second run in the giant slalom at Park City. Three months later, on 29 February 2004 when he took 23 of the slalom in Kranjska Gora, the first World Cup points. He was particularly effective in the Nor- Am Cup: With two first and third places, he chose the slalom rating for themselves and classified in the overall standings in second place. Added to this was winning the slalom silver medal at the Junior World Championship 2004 in Maribor. In the season 2004 /05, Ligety focused in the World Cup slalom and reached six times a placing in the points. End of February 2005 he met the first time in Kranjska Gora in the top ten. At the 2005 World Championships in Bormio 12th remained in the combination of his only countable income.
Breakthrough and Olympic title
At the start of the World Cup season 2005/ 06 reach Ligety three podiums, which he finally established himself in the world rankings. For a surprise, he saw at the Olympic Winter Games in 2006, when he won against all odds, the gold medal in the combination, Ivica Kostelic before and Rainer Schoenfelder. This success was the more remarkable because he had been lying by the combined departure only on the 22nd place, however, scored a clear fastest time in the Combined Slalom. In the Olympic giant slalom and slalom races he left, however. Three weeks after the Olympic victory was on March 5, 2006, in the giant slalom in Yongpyong the first World Cup victory.
In winter 2006/ 07 Ligety denied World Cup races in all five disciplines. Before the end of the year he was able to score two more podium finishes, but overall the season was slightly disappointing for him. In World Cup race three times he was fourth, also in the Giant Slalom World Championships 2007 in Åre, where he missed another medal by only seven hundredths of a second. From the winter 2007/ 08 at Ligety waived again on participating in downhill race ( except in the context of super- combinations ). Opposite end of the season could celebrate two more wins. Together with two third places, this was sufficient for the first time, winning the giant slalom discipline rating; in the World Cup he finished fifth.
Another Giant Slalom World Cup victory was added in the 2008 /09 season. While Ligety was able to record three additional podium finishes, but gave this rating in the discipline only to third place, even if the residue to champion Didier Cuche was relatively low. Yet they are different were his performance in the 2009 World Championships in Val d'Isere: The winning bronze in the giant slalom were offset by losses in the other three races. Beginning of April 2009 suffered Ligety during downhill training at the U.S. Championships a knee injury, but surgery was not required.
Riesenlalom - Dominator
On 29 January 2010 Ligety won his fifth World Cup race; It was this his third consecutive victory on the Podkoren slope in Kranjska Gora, which is one of the most demanding giant slalom courses in the world. With three other podium finishes, he decided for the second time the giant slalom discipline rating for themselves. Added to this was the first podium finish in a super -G. At the Olympic Winter Games 2010 was a fifth-place finish in the super combined his best result. The World Cup season 2010/11 started Ligety with three giant slalom wins in a row. For this reason he was before the World Cup 2011 on the most mentioned favorite. In Garmisch -Partenkirchen, he confirmed the expectations and won the gold medal in the giant slalom, after he had previously excreted in the super-G and super combined. At the end of the season he decided for the third time the giant slalom discipline standings of the World Cup itself.
At the start of the World Cup season 2011/12 in October 2011 in Sölden Ligety won the giant slalom. On December 6, 2011 in Beaver Creek followed his tenth overall World Cup victory. With another victory in Kranjska Gora, the fourth overall at this place, he eventually finished second in the giant slalom discipline rating ranked second behind Marcel Hirscher.
Triple world champion
Before the season 2012/13 the International Ski Federation FIS introduced a new material regulations. Among other things, should be particularly reduced in the giant slalom with a narrower waist carving skis the risk of injury. Ligety was among the most vocal critics of the new rules and said several times publicly against it from. The change was made without consultation with the athletes and throw the technical development by decades back. However Ligety succeeded the forced conversion to the new material by far the best. Start of the season, he decided the giant slalom in Sölden with a lead of 2.75 seconds for itself - since 1979 no skier had so clearly gained in this discipline. Similarly, clearly he dominated the competition in mid-December on the Gran Risa in Alta Badia, which is regarded as the most demanding track in the world, where in the first round, he was 2.40 seconds faster than the runner-up.
Of the eight World Cup giant slalom race of the season won six Ligety; he finished third twice. At the World Championships 2013 he won the gold medal in the super-G and super combined; in these two disciplines, he has still not boast World Cup victory. His 2011 won the world champion title he successfully defended. Ligety is only the fifth skier, who three times won the gold medal at the same World Championships. Before him, it was only Émile Allais (1937 ), Stein Eriksen (1954 ), Toni Sailer (1956, 1958) and Jean -Claude Killy (1968). With the victory in the second last race of the season in Kranjska Gora, he secured early for the fourth time the giant slalom discipline standings.
Again Olympic champion
In the 2013/14 season Ligety continued his winning streak in the giant slalom. He won in Sölden and in Beaver Creek. Thus, he was the first skier Alberto Tomba since 1991, four giant slaloms in a row to decide for themselves. However, the record of Ingemar Stenmark ( five wins in a row ) he could not equalize, since he retired in Val d'Isere on 14 December; it was the first loss after seven and a half years. In the giant slalom in Adelboden then followed by another failure. Despite this series cracked giant slalom, Ligety celebrated further success. The win in the super combined in Wengen and 2nd in the super combination of Kitzbühel, he secured the combination discipline score points with the Frenchman Alexis Pinturault. At the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014 he was in the super combined and giant slalom as a top favorite. In combination contest he disappointed, however, and was only twelfth. Unlike it was in his best discipline, the giant slalom. Ligety was able to withstand the expectations and convincingly won his second gold medal. On March 12, he reached the 2nd place at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide in the downhill. Thus it can have at least a podium finish in any discipline. Three days later, on March 15, 2014, Ligety won the RTL - discipline rating by a victory in the last race of the year. Since Marcel Hirscher finished 4th in the race, Hirscher and Ligety had the same number of points in the discipline rating; but the greater number of wins this season (5 for Ligety, 2 for Hirscher ) decided the score for Ligety. Thus Ligety has won for the 5th time the RTL - ball; and only Ingemar Stenmark ( with a total of 7) has won more votes RTL - discipline.
Private
In the fall of 2006, Ligety founded together with a business partner, the company Shred Optics. It sells ski goggles, sunglasses and helmets, all designed by him.
Achievements
Olympic games
- Turin 2006: 1 combination
- Vancouver 2010: 5 Super Combined, 9 Giant Slalom, Super-G 19
- Sochi 2014: 1st Giant Slalom, Super Combined 12, 14, Super -G
World Championships
- Bormio 2005: 12 combination
- Åre 2007: 4 Giant Slalom, Super -G 31
- Val d'Isere 2009: 3 Giant Slalom
- Garmisch -Partenkirchen 2011: 1st Giant Slalom, Slalom 19
- Schladming 2013: 1 Super -G, 1 Super Combined, Giant Slalom 1
Junior World Championships
- Maribor 2004: 2nd Slalom, 9 combination, 12 Giant Slalom, Super-G, 26, 47 departure
World Cup ratings
- Season 2005/ 06: 9 Overall World Cup, 4th slalom World Cup
- Season 2006/ 07: 8 giant slalom World Cup
- Season 2007/ 08: 5 Overall World Cup, 1 giant slalom World Cup, 7th Combined World Cup, 9 slalom World Cup
- Season 2008/ 09: 9 Overall World Cup, 3rd giant slalom World Cup
- Season 2009/ 10: 7 Overall World Cup, 1 giant slalom World Cup
- Season 2010/ 11: 9 Overall World Cup, 1 giant slalom World Cup
- Season 2011/12: 9 Overall World Cup, second giant slalom World Cup
- Season 2012/13: 3rd Overall World Cup giant slalom World Cup 1, 7 Super - G World Cup
- 2013/14 season: 1 giant slalom World Cup, 1st Combined World Cup
World Cup wins
Ligety won 23 World Cup races so far, added 23 more podiums:
Nor- Am Cup
- Season 2003/ 04: 2nd overall, 1st slalom standings, fifth giant slalom rating
- 3 wins ( all slalom ), plus 4 more podiums