Erika Hess facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Erika Hess

Alpine skier
Hess in February 1987
Disciplines	Technical events
Born	(1962-03-06) 6 March 1962 (age 63) Wolfenschiessen, Nidwalden, Switzerland
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
World Cup debut	1978
Retired	1987
Olympics
Teams	2
Medals	1
World Championships
Teams	4
Medals	6 (6 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	15
Wins	31
Podiums	76
Overall titles	2
Discipline titles	6
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing  Switzerland World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 21 1 10 Giant slalom 6 9 5 Combined 4 7 3 International competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 0 1 World Championships 6 0 0 Olympic Games Bronze 1980 Lake Placid Slalom World Championships Gold 1982 Schladming Slalom Gold 1982 Schladming Giant slalom Gold 1982 Schladming Combined Gold 1985 Bormio Combined Gold 1987 Crans Montana Slalom Gold 1987 Crans Montana Combined

Erika Hess (born March 6, 1962) is a famous former alpine ski racer from Switzerland. She was one of the best female skiers in the 1980s.

Erika won 31 races in the World Cup, including 22 in slalom. She also won four slalom titles and two overall World Cup titles. She earned six gold medals at the World Championships between 1982 and 1987. At just 17 years old, she won a bronze medal in slalom at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

About Erika Hess's Life

Erika Hess was born in Wolfenschiessen, Switzerland. She started her first World Cup race when she was only fifteen years old in January 1978. Her first time finishing in the top three (called a "podium finish") was in December 1979.

She stopped racing professionally at age 25 after the 1987 season. By then, she had won 31 World Cup races and finished on the podium 76 times. She was very good at slalom, winning six World Cup Slalom Races in a row from January to March 1981.

In 1982, Erika was given the "Skieur d’Or" award. This award, later called the "Serge Lang Trophy," is given to top ski racers by a group of international ski journalists.

Erika's cousin, Monika Hess, was also an alpine ski racer.

Erika explained that she retired before the 1988 Olympics because she found the pressure and busy atmosphere of the Olympic Games very challenging. She felt these factors were much harder to deal with than in a normal race.

Erika married her trainer, Jacques Reymond. They had three sons. Jacques Reymond passed away in May 2020.

Today, Erika organizes races and training camps for young, upcoming ski racers.

Erika Hess's World Cup Achievements

Erika Hess achieved many victories and titles during her time in the World Cup.

Season Titles

These are the titles Erika won for being the best in a specific skiing event or overall for the season.

Season Standings

This table shows how Erika ranked in different skiing events each season.

Race Victories

Erika won 31 World Cup races in total. She had 76 podium finishes (meaning she placed first, second, or third).

• 21 wins in Slalom
• 6 wins in Giant Slalom
• 4 wins in Combined

Season	Date	Location	Race
1981	13 January 1981	Schruns, Austria	Slalom
	21 January 1981	Crans-Montana, Switzerland	Slalom
	31 January 1981	Les Diablerets, Switzerland	Slalom
	3 February 1981	Zwiesel, West Germany	Slalom
	15 March 1981	Furano, Japan	Slalom
	24 March 1981	Wangs–Pizol, Switzerland	Slalom
	25 March 1981		Giant slalom
1982	13 December 1981	Piancavallo, Italy	Slalom
	21 December 1981	St. Gervais, France	Slalom
	3 January 1982	Maribor, Yugoslavia	Slalom
	20 January 1982	Bad Gastein, Austria	Slalom
			Combined
	1982 World Championships
	20 March 1982	L'Alpe d'Huez, France	Giant slalom
	21 March 1982		Slalom
1983	8 December 1982	Val-d'Isère, France	Giant slalom
	17 December 1982	Piancavallo, Italy	Slalom
	9 February 1983	Maribor, Yugoslavia	Slalom
1984	1 December 1983	Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia	Slalom
	11 December 1983	Val-d'Isère, France	Giant slalom
	14 December 1983	Sestriere, Italy	Combined
	15 January 1984	Maribor, Yugoslavia	Slalom
	22 January 1984	Verbier, Switzerland	Combined
	29 January 1984	St. Gervais, France	Giant slalom
	17 March 1984	Jasná, Czechoslovakia	Giant slalom
1985	19 March 1985	Park City, UT, USA	Slalom
	1985 World Championships
	22 March 1985	Heavenly Valley, CA, USA	Slalom
1986	12 December 1985	Sestriere, Italy	Combined
	15 December 1985	Savognin, Switzerland	Slalom
	11 March 1986	Park City, UT, USA	Slalom
1987	5 December 1986	Waterville Valley, NH, USA	Slalom
	21 December 1986	Val Zoldana, Italy	Slalom
	1987 World Championships

World Championship Results

Erika Hess also competed in the World Championships, winning many medals.

From 1948 to 1980, the Winter Olympics races were also counted as World Championships for alpine skiing.
Also, from 1954 to 1980, the combined event was a "paper race." This meant they added up the results from the other three events (Downhill, Giant Slalom, and Slalom) to get a combined score.

Olympic Results

Erika Hess competed in two Winter Olympic Games.

See also

In Spanish: Erika Hess para niños

• List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's race winners