Henri Oreiller biography
Henri Oreiller, (born December 5, 1925, Paris, France—died October 7, 1962, Paris), French skier and auto racer who gained a double championship within the downhill and mixed occasions of Alpine snowboarding through the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. His downhill medal got here on the debut of the occasion on the Winter Olympics.
Oreiller was a member of the French Resistance throughout World War II earlier than becoming a member of the nice French ski group that dominated Olympic occasions within the years after the battle. A confident, clownish persona, he boasted that he was so assured he would win that different skiers shouldn't try and compete in opposition to him. He made good his boast, taking gold medals within the downhill and Alpine mixed snowboarding occasions and a bronze medal within the slalom on the 1948 Winter Olympics. Known for his acrobatic type, he would fly over bumps recklessly, then regain his stability in midair. After the Olympics he entered different contests, sweeping all of the snowboarding occasions on the Harriman Cup of 1949.
In later years he turned to auto sports activities, profitable a French nationwide championship within the tourism class. He died in an accident on the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome in 1962. His reminiscence continues to be honoured in France, with streets and buildings named for him, together with the Henri Oreiller Conference Centre within the ski-resort city of Tignes.
