 Thöni in1972 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1951-02-28)28 February 1951 (age 74) Trafoi,South Tyrol, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Giant slalom,slalom,downhill,combined | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Fiamme Gialle[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 11 December1969 (age 18) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | March1980 (age 29) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 (1972,1976,1980) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 3 (1 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 6 (1970–80) (includes three Olympics) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 7 (5 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 11 (1970–80) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 4 (1971–73,'75) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 5 (3 GS, 2 SL) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gustav Thöni (Italian pronunciation:[ˈɡustavˈtøːni;ˈteːni]; sometimes listed asGustavo Thoeni;[2] born 28 February 1951) is an Italian retiredWorld Cupalpine ski racer.
Thöni was born in theGerman-speaking province ofSouth Tyrol, in the hamlet ofTrafoi of theStilfs municipality, which is situated on the northern ramp of theStelvio Pass. He currently operates a hotel there.[3]
Ranked among the greatest Italian skiers ever, Thöni won threeOlympic medals and a total of four overallWorld Cup titles in five years in the early 1970s. The four titles are an achievement he shares withPirmin Zurbriggen andHermann Maier, exceeded byMarcel Hirscher's eight andMarc Girardelli's five.[citation needed]
Thöni was the dominant skier in the technical events (slalom andgiant slalom) in the early 1970s. At Val d'Isère, on 12 December 1968, was his World Cup debut. The 17-year-old placed 40th in the giant slalom (bib 110). His first victory came in the first race of the next season, a giant slalom atVal d'Isère, France, in December 1969. Still a teenager, he had a very successful rookie year during that1970 season with four victories and nine podiums. He finished third in the overall standings, just eight points behind winnerKarl Schranz of Austria. Thöni won the overall title the next three seasons of1971–73, and again in1975. He was succeeded as the dominant technical skier byIngemar Stenmark of Sweden, then byAlberto Tomba.[citation needed]
The year that Thöni did not win (1974), he was a close second to his fellow countryman and friendPiero Gros.[4] He did win two world titles that year, in giant slalom and slalom,[5][6] at the1974 World Championships,[7] but those results were not included in the World Cup standings.[citation needed]
Although he concentrated on the technical events, he did occasionally compete in the only speed event of the era, thedownhill (theSuper-G was not run on the World Cup circuit until December 1982). His best finish in a downhill was a second place on theHahnenkamm, Kitzbühel,Austria, in January 1975. After more than two minutes on the classicStreif course, he lost to the up-and-coming Austrian legendFranz Klammer by just one-hundredth of a second, a distance of about 25 cm (10 in) at 130 km/h (80 mph). This event inspired the 1981 movieUn centesimo di secondo byDuccio Tessari, which featured Thöni himself.[3]
Thöni also won a number ofcombined events (downhill & slalom) during his career, including the non-medal titles in thecombined at the Olympics in1972 and1976 (but counted asworld championship titles).
Thöni's final victory in a slalom came in March 1975 atSun Valley. He won the final race of the season, a parallel slalom ("pro-style" heats) the following week inVal Gardena, Italy, against his challengerStenmark to secure the overall title. His last win in giant slalom was in January 1976, and his final World Cup victory was in the combined atKitzbühel in January 1977. His last podium finish was a third place in the slalom atÅre, Sweden, in February 1979.[8]
He finished eighth in theslalom at the1980 Winter Olympics atLake Placid. As the torch had been passed on to the two top finishers,Stenmark and AmericanPhil Mahre, Thöni retired from World Cup competition a month later in March 1980 at the age of 29. Later, he was a personal coach toAlberto Tomba (1989–1996). In parallel, he was technical director of the men's national team, and then, until 1999, general manager of both male and female national teams.[9]
Thöni was the Italian flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and at the closing of the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. In 1973 and 1974 he was named "Skieur d’Or" by international ski journalists. He is mentioned in the song "Nuntereggae più" byRino Gaetano. His cousinRoland Thöni was also a World Cup alpine ski racer in the 1970s. Roland took bronze in the slalom at the1972 Olympics, while Gustav took the silver.[3]
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Giant slalom |
| 1971 | Overall |
| 1972 | Overall |
| Giant slalom | |
| 1973 | Overall |
| Slalom | |
| 1974 | Slalom |
| 1975 | Overall |
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 1 | not run | — | awarded only in 1976 & 1980 |
| 1971 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 13 | ||
| 1972 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 17 | ||
| 1973 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | ||
| 1974 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | — | ||
| 1975 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 1976 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | |
| 1977 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 10 | — | ||
| 1978 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 10 | 23 | ||
| 1979 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 20 | — | ||
| 1980 | 29 | 51 | 18 | — | — | — |
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11 Dec 1969 |  Val d'Isère,France | Giant slalom |
| 4 Jan 1970 |  Bad Hindelang,West Germany | Slalom | |
| 29 Jan 1970 |  Madonna di Campiglio,Italy | Giant slalom | |
| 30 Jan 1970 | Giant slalom | ||
| 1971 | 10 Jan 1971 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 21 Feb 1971 |  Sugarloaf,ME,USA | Giant slalom | |
| 25 Feb 1971 | Heavenly Valley,CA, USA | Slalom | |
| 27 Feb 1971 | Giant slalom | ||
| 1972 | 2 Mar 1972 | Heavenly Valley, CA, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1973 | 15 Jan 1973 |  Adelboden,Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 4 Feb 1973 |  St. Anton,Austria | Slalom | |
| 4 Mar 1973 |  Mont Ste. Anne,QC,Canada | Slalom | |
| 1974 | 20 Jan 1974 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 2 Mar 1974 |  Voss,Norway | Giant slalom | |
| 10 Mar 1974 |  Vysoke Tatry,Czechoslovakia | Slalom | |
| 1975 | 12 Jan 1975 | Wengen, Switzerland | Combined |
| 19 Jan 1975 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Combined | |
| 30 Jan 1975 | Chamonix, France | Slalom | |
| 1 Feb 1975 | Megève, France | Combined | |
| 15 Mar 1975 | Sun Valley,ID, USA | Slalom | |
| 23 Mar 1975 | Val Gardena, Italy | Parallel | |
| 1976 | 5 Dec 1975 | Val d'Isère, France | Giant slalom |
| 12 Jan 1976 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 1977 | 16 Jan 1977 | Wengen, Switzerland | Combined |
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 18 | 4 | DNF | not run | — | — |
| 1972 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 22 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
| 1976 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 26 | DNF1 | 24 | 12 | — | |
| 1980 | 28 | 8 | — | — | — |
From1948 through1980, theWinter Olympics were also theWorld Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 20 | 2 | 1 | not run | 13 | not run |
| 1976 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 26 | ||
| 1980 | 28 | 8 | — | — |
