Girardelli, Marc

Marc Girardelli, (born July 18, 1963, Lustenau, Austria), Austrian-born Luxembourgian skier who won five overall World Cup titles in the 1980s and ’90s.

Coached by his father, Helmut, Girardelli made his debut on the World Cup circuit at age 15. Early on, Girardelli appeared not to approach the biennial Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) World Championships as earnestly as he did FIS World Cup races, yet he compiled an impressive list of World Championship accomplishments, beginning in 1985 at Bormio, Italy, when he was runner-up in the slalom and third in the giant slalom. He won the Alpine combination and finished second in both the slalom and giant slalom in 1987 at the World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switz.

Using his physical strength and unorthodox stance to telling effect, he had always made the slalom his forte, and, as a result, he gained particular satisfaction from winning his first downhill race in World Cup competition in 1989 on the Hahnenkamm course at Kitzbühel, Austria. He promptly followed this with two more downhill victories in quick succession at Wengen, Switz., to demonstrate an unmatched all-round ability. That year he began a string of impressive World Championship showings, winning the combination and finishing third in the slalom at Vail, Colo. In 1991 at Saalbach, Austria, he finally won the slalom. In 1993 at Morioka, Japan, he placed second in the slalom and third in the combination. Although an Olympic gold medal eluded him throughout his career, he claimed silver in the giant slalom and supergiant slalom at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.

In January 1993, at St. Anton, Austria, he gained his 40th World Cup race victory, a career achievement bettered only by Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden. By March of that year, at the age of 29, Girardelli had achieved overall victory in the men’s World Cup for a record fifth time. Those five triumphs (1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, and 1993) were spread over nine years that were punctuated by a spate of injuries serious enough to discourage a lesser competitor, but each time he came back to prove a remarkable survivor. Once the left half of his body was so weakened that he had to undergo an exceptionally rigorous training program, embellished by weight lifting and long mountain runs. The years of training and rehabilitation took their toll in 1995, when Girardelli was under nearly constant supervision by his doctor. After his retirement from competition the following year, Girardelli devoted much of his time to promotional work related to the Alpine sports industry.