Marc Girardelli facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marc Girardelli
Marc Girardelli in April 2014
Born	(1963-07-18) 18 July 1963 (age 61) Lustenau, Austria
World Cup career
Seasons	1980 – 1996
Individual wins	46
Indiv. podiums	101
Overall titles	5
Discipline titles	10
Medal record International alpine ski competitions Representing  Luxembourg Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 2 0 World Championships 4 4 3 World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 16 4 5 Giant 7 10 9 Super-G 9 4 5 Downhill 3 8 6 Combined 11 2 1 Parallel 0 0 0 Olympic Games Silver 1992 Albertville Super-G Silver 1992 Albertville Giant slalom World Championships Gold 1987 Crans-Montana Combined Gold 1989 Vail Combined Gold 1991 Saalbach Slalom Gold 1996 Sierra Nevada Combined Silver 1985 Bormio Slalom Silver 1987 Crans-Montana Giant slalom Silver 1987 Crans-Montana Super-G Silver 1993 Morioka Slalom Bronze 1985 Bormio Giant slalom Bronze 1989 Vail Slalom Bronze 1993 Morioka Combined

Marc Girardelli (born 18 July 1963) is a famous former alpine ski racer from Austria and Luxembourg. He was a five-time World Cup overall champion. This means he was the best skier in the world across all types of alpine skiing races. He was great at all five alpine skiing styles: downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and combined.

About Marc Girardelli

Marc Girardelli was born in Lustenau, Austria. He started skiing when he was just five years old and began racing at seven. As a young skier, he was very successful. He won many local competitions, not just in alpine skiing but also in ski jumping.

He used to compete for Austria. But in 1976, he decided to switch and compete for Luxembourg instead. This happened because of disagreements about his training. The Austrian skiing group wanted him to go to a special ski school far from his home. However, his parents wanted him to stay in his hometown.

In 1981, Marc started to become a top skier. He got his first podium finish (meaning he placed in the top three) in a race in Switzerland. From then on, he was often among the best in slalom and giant slalom races.

First Wins and Injuries

Marc won his first World Cup race in Sweden in February 1983. But just two weeks later, he had a serious injury. He crashed during a downhill race and hurt his left knee badly. He tore all the ligaments, cartilage, and a tendon in his knee.

Despite this major injury, he came back strong. In the next season (1984), he won five slalom races. He finished third overall in the World Cup standings that year.

Becoming a Champion

In 1985, Marc Girardelli had an amazing year. He won 11 races and took home his first World Cup overall title. He won the overall title again in 1986 and for a third time in 1989.

In 1990, he had another serious accident. He was very lucky not to become paralyzed. But he recovered again and won the overall title in 1991 and for a record fifth time in 1993. This was a record until another skier, Marcel Hirscher, won his sixth title in 2017.

In total, Marc Girardelli won 46 World Cup races. This makes him one of the top five male skiers of all time in terms of wins. He also reached the podium (top three) 100 times!

Olympic and World Championship Success

Because Marc kept his Austrian citizenship while skiing for Luxembourg, he couldn't compete in the 1980 or 1984 Winter Olympics. He also couldn't compete in the 1982 World Championships. However, he was allowed to race for Luxembourg in the World Cup.

For the 1985 World Championships, it wasn't clear if he could compete. But he showed he was working on getting Luxembourg citizenship. The FIS gave him special permission. He then won a silver medal in slalom and a bronze medal in giant slalom.

Marc officially became a citizen of Luxembourg in time for the 1987 World Championships. His first Olympics were in 1988 in Calgary, Canada, but he didn't win a medal there.

At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, he won two silver medals. He got silver in the super-G and in the giant slalom. These were the first medals ever for Luxembourg at the Winter Olympics! It was also Luxembourg's first Olympic medal since 1952.

Marc won a total of eleven medals at the World Championships. Four of these were gold medals:

• Slalom in Saalbach in 1991
• Combined in Crans-Montana in 1987
• Combined in Vail in 1989
• Combined in Sierra Nevada in 1996

Retirement and Later Life

Marc Girardelli's last World Cup race was a downhill event in Italy on December 20, 1996. He planned to race again the next day, but he got another knee injury. After missing more races, he announced his retirement from international competition in January 1997. He was 33 years old.

After retiring, Marc became an honorary citizen of Bansko, a ski resort in Bulgaria. Since 2015, he has advised the Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria on winter tourism. He also organizes skiing events at various ski resorts in Europe and in Chile. He even has his own brand of kids' sports fashion called "Marc Girardelli Skiwear."

World Cup Season Titles

Marc Girardelli won many titles during his career. Here are the seasons and disciplines where he was the champion:

World Championship Results

Marc Girardelli won several medals at the World Championships:

• The Super-G race in 1993 was cancelled due to bad weather.

Olympic Results

Olympic rings symbol

Marc Girardelli competed in three Winter Olympics:

See also

• Ski World Cup Most podiums & Top 10 results