Marc Girardelli biography
Marc Girardelli, (born July 18, 1963, Lustenau, Austria), Austrian-born Luxembourgian skier who gained 5 general World Cup titles within the Eighties and ’90s.
Coached by his father, Helmut, Girardelli made his debut on the World Cup circuit at age 15. Early on, Girardelli appeared to not method the biennial Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) World Championships as earnestly as he did FIS World Cup races, but he compiled a formidable record of World Championship accomplishments, starting in 1985 at Bormio, Italy, when he was runner-up within the slalom and third within the big slalom. He gained the Alpine mixture and completed second in each the slalom and big slalom in 1987 on the World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switz.
Using his bodily power and unorthodox stance to telling impact, he had all the time made the slalom his forte, and, consequently, he gained specific satisfaction from profitable his first downhill race in World Cup competitors in 1989 on the Hahnenkamm course at Kitzbühel, Austria. He promptly adopted this with two extra downhill victories in fast succession at Wengen, Switz., to exhibit an unmatched all-round potential. That yr he started a string of spectacular World Championship showings, profitable the mix and ending third within the slalom at Vail, Colo. In 1991 at Saalbach, Austria, he lastly gained the slalom. In 1993 at Morioka, Japan, he positioned second within the slalom and third within the mixture. Although an Olympic gold medal eluded him all through his profession, he claimed silver within the big slalom and supergiant slalom on the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.
In January 1993, at St. Anton, Austria, he gained his fortieth World Cup race victory, a profession achievement bettered solely by Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden. By March of that yr, on the age of 29, Girardelli had achieved general victory within the males’s World Cup for a file fifth time. Those 5 triumphs (1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, and 1993) had been unfold over 9 years that had been punctuated by a spate of accidents severe sufficient to discourage a lesser competitor, however every time he got here again to show a exceptional survivor. Once the left half of his physique was so weakened that he needed to bear an exceptionally rigorous coaching program, embellished by weight lifting and lengthy mountain runs. The years of coaching and rehabilitation took their toll in 1995, when Girardelli was below practically fixed supervision by his physician. After his retirement from competitors the next yr, Girardelli devoted a lot of his time to promotional work associated to the Alpine sports activities business.