Marc Girardelli biography

Marc Girardelli – native of Austria – first started skiing at the tender age of five. This is nothing unusual when you consider that the Vorarlberg Alps are his home. Yet what followed is unprecedented. He was awarded reginal champion in slalom at only eight, and the fist Youths‘ Grand Prix champion at twelve. He participated in his first FIS race for the Luxembourg skiing association at fourteen.

From this point on, there was no stopping Marc Girardelli. At 17, he participated in the giant slalom in Waterville Valley. Just one year later, he took his place upon the winners‘ rostrum: as runner-up in the World Cup in Wengen, the exceptional talent hit the headlines. Marc Girardelli achieved the status of world-class athlete in February 1983, when he was awarded 1st place for the slalom in Gällivare. A champion has been born.

Highlights

• 5 x Overall Winner of the Ski World Cup
• 3 x Downhill Champion
• 9 x Super-G Champion
• 7 x Giant Slalom Champion
• 16 x Slalom Champion
• 11 x Alpine Combination Champion
• 11 Medals World Championship (4x Gold)

In the enssuing years, Marc Girardelli became a world star, and a sports icon with cult status. When the stadium announcer announced the name of Marc Girardelli, it was usually in his capacity as champion of downhill, in combination, and in his special discipline – the slalom. In the years 1985/1986/1989/1991/1993, Marc Girardelli received the crystal ball thanks to his sensational performances. He was World Cup skiing champion five times! No other professional ski racer has managed this to date.

He masterfully dominated the competition of Alpine sportsmen for two years. In 1988/1989, he was outstanding. Marc Girardelli won the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel and the Lauberhorn downhill events. The sum total of his succeses is impressive: he won 46 international World Cup championships in skiing, won two gold medals and one bronze at the World Championships and two medals at the Winter Olympic Games in Albertville in 1992.