Pirmin Zurbriggen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pirmin Zurbriggen

Alpine skier
Zurbriggen in 2014
Disciplines	Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, combined
Born	(1963-02-04) 4 February 1963 (age 62) Saas Almagell, Valais, Switzerland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
World Cup debut	4 January 1981 (age 17)
Retired	17 March 1990 (age 27)
Website	zurbriggen.ch
Olympics
Teams	2 (1984, 1988)
Medals	2 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams	4 (1982, 1985, 1987, 1989)
Medals	9 (4 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	10 (1981–1990)
Wins	40
Podiums	83
Overall titles	4 (1984, 1987, 1988, 1990)
Discipline titles	12
Medal record Men's Alpine Skiing Representing  Switzerland International alpine ski competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 1 World Championships 4 4 1 World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 2 2 2 Giant 7 6 6 Super-G 10 9 4 Downhill 10 5 4 Combined 11 4 1 Parallel 0 0 0 Olympic Games Gold 1988 Calgary Downhill Bronze 1988 Calgary Giant slalom World Championships Gold 1985 Bormio Downhill Gold 1985 Bormio Combined Gold 1987 Crans-Montana Super-G Gold 1987 Crans-Montana Giant slalom Silver 1985 Bormio Giant slalom Silver 1987 Crans-Montana Downhill Silver 1987 Crans-Montana Combined Silver 1989 Vail Super-G Bronze 1989 Vail Giant slalom

Pirmin Zurbriggen (born February 4, 1963) is a famous former alpine ski racer from Switzerland. He is known as one of the most successful skiers ever! Pirmin won the overall World Cup title four times. He also earned an Olympic gold medal in Downhill at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Plus, he won nine medals at the World Championships, including four gold medals.

Pirmin Zurbriggen's Life

Pirmin Zurbriggen was born in a village called Saas-Almagell in Valais, Switzerland. His dad, Alois, was an innkeeper and used to be a ski racer too. However, his father stopped racing after his brother had a training accident.

Pirmin started his World Cup career in January 1981, just before he turned 18. He quickly became a star. In January 1985, at age 21, he won a downhill race in Kitzbühel. This made him the first skier to win World Cup races in all five alpine skiing events. These events are Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, and Combined. The Super-G event was quite new at the time, added in December 1982.

Pirmin retired from skiing after the 1990 season. He had just won his fourth World Cup overall title. At that time, only one other racer, Gustav Thöni, had won four overall titles. Another great skier, Marc Girardelli, later matched Pirmin's record and then won a fifth title.

Pirmin grew up in the quiet village of Saas-Almagell. During his nine years in the World Cup, he won 40 races. This amazing number of wins, along with his five gold medals, makes him one of the "All-Time Greats" in alpine skiing. He finished in the top ten 169 times!

After his skiing career, Pirmin started a family. He married Monika Julen in 1989. Monika is the sister of Max Julen, who was Pirmin's best friend on the Swiss ski team. Pirmin and Monika have five children: Elia, Pirmin Jr., Maria, Alain, and Leonie. All of their children have also competed in ski racing! Pirmin's younger sister, Heidi Zurbriggen, also became a successful ski racer, winning three World Cup downhill races. He is also a distant cousin of Silvan Zurbriggen, another well-known skier.

Today, Pirmin Zurbriggen runs two hotels. He manages the "Wellness Hotel Pirmin Zurbriggen" in Saas-Almagell with his parents. He also has another hotel, "Apparthotel Zurbriggen," in Zermatt. He even partnered with Authier Ski company to create his own line of skis.

Pirmin's Big Wins

Pirmin Zurbriggen had an incredible career. He won many important races and titles.

World Cup Season Titles

Pirmin won the overall World Cup title four times. This means he was the best skier across all events for those seasons. He also won specific titles for different events:

• Overall World Cup Winner: 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990
• Downhill Title: 1987, 1988
• Super-G Title: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
• Giant Slalom Title: 1987

World Cup Race Victories

Pirmin won a total of 40 World Cup races! He was very good at all the different types of skiing. He had 83 podium finishes, meaning he placed first, second, or third in many races.

• Downhill: 10 wins
• Super-G: 10 wins
• Combined: 11 wins
• Giant Slalom: 7 wins
• Slalom: 2 wins

World Championship Results

Pirmin Zurbriggen won 9 medals at the World Championships.

Olympic Results

Pirmin competed in two Winter Olympics and won two medals.

See also

• Ski World Cup Most podiums & Top 10 results