 An illustration of Henri Oreiller, ca. 1948 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1925-12-05)5 December 1925 Paris, France |
| Died | 7 October 1962(1962-10-07) (aged 36) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Alpine skier |
| Sport | |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | downhill,giant slalom,slalom,combined |
| Club | Val-d'Isère |
| Retired | 1952 (age 26) |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 2 – (1948,1952) |
| Medals | 3 (2 gold) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 3 – (1948,1950,1952) includes Olympics |
| Medals | 3 (2 gold) |
Medal record | |
Henri Jean Auguste Oreiller (5 December 1925 – 7 October 1962)[1] was analpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from France. He won two gold medals and a bronze at the1948 Winter Olympics, becoming the most successful athlete at those Games inSt. Moritz, Switzerland.[2]
Born in Paris, he is the son of Léon Oreiller, of Italian origin, and Marguerite Favre, fromSavoie. His parents lived in Paris and frequentedVal d'Isère for holidays. Oreiller was a member of Section Eclairuers Skieurs, a specialist skiing section of theFrench Resistance duringWorld War II. After the liberation of Paris, he fought in the Alps in an elite winter combat unit of the French Army.[2]
Nicknamed the "Parisian of Val d'Isère" or the "madman of downhill", he was the inauguraldownhill gold medallist at the1948 St. Moritz Olympics, with a record margin of four seconds over the runner-up. His medals cache included: the gold medal in thecombined event, and the bronze medal in the specialslalom. He missed one of his medal ceremonies because he was playingaccordion in a local bar, and received his medal a week later.[2]
He competed in the1950 World Championships atAspen and finished fourth in the new event, thegiant slalom. At the1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Oreiller was 14th in thedownhill and 16th in thegiant slalom.[2]
Obsessed with speed, Oreiller retired from ski racing in 1952 at age 26 to take upmotor racing. Ten years later, he had a racing car accident which took his life on 7 October 1962. A tire blowout at 100 mph (160 km/h) caused hisFerrari to flip at theLinas-Montlhéry autodrome and he later died atHôpital Cochin in Paris.[3]
At his shrine at Val d'Isère, where he is interred next to his wife, testimonies from around the world bear witness to his abilities.
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Men's World Champions:Downhill • Super-G • Giant Slalom • Slalom • Combined • Parallel Giant Slalom • Mixed Team |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
