Italian · Trafoi, South Tyrol, Italy · Born 28 February 1951Italian alpine skiing legend who dominated the technical disciplines in the early 1970s, winning four overall World Cup titles in five years and igniting Italy's 'Blue Avalanche' era.
Gustav Thöni was born on 28 February 1951 in the hamlet of Trafoi, in the German-speaking South Tyrol region of Italy, where his family later ran a hotel. He made his World Cup debut with a giant slalom victory at Val-d'Isère in December 1969 and had an outstanding rookie season in 1970, finishing third overall behind Austria's Karl Schranz. Thöni went on to win the overall World Cup title in three consecutive seasons from 1971 to 1973, becoming the figurehead of Italy's 'Valanga Azzurra' (Blue Avalanche) team that dominated technical skiing through the decade. At the 1972 Sapporo Olympics he won gold in the giant slalom - ending Italy's 20-year wait for an alpine skiing Olympic title - and added silver in the slalom. He won a fourth overall World Cup title in 1975, an achievement matched only by Marc Girardelli among men, and famously edged out Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark in a dramatic four-hour parallel slalom final at Val Gardena to secure the crown. Thöni's career included seven World Championship medals between 1972 and 1976, five of them gold, and one of alpine skiing's most famous near-misses: in the 1975 Kitzbühel downhill he lost to a rising Franz Klammer by just one hundredth of a second, an event that inspired the 1981 film 'A Hundredth of a Second,' in which Thöni appeared. He retired from World Cup competition in March 1980 at age 29, having been succeeded as the sport's dominant technical skier first by Stenmark and later by his own protégé, Alberto Tomba, whom he personally coached from 1989 to 1996.
Winning four overall World Cup titles in five years and leading Italy's dominant 'Valanga Azzurra' technical skiing team of the 1970s
How They Played
Precise, tactically composed technical specialist renowned for a revolutionary weight-shifting carving technique in slalom and giant slalom
Lasting Impact
Regarded as one of the greatest Italian skiers in history and one of the finest technical racers ever, whose coaching later shaped the career of Alberto Tomba
Career Honours
- 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist, Giant Slalom
- 4x Overall World Cup Champion (1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)
- 5x World Championship Gold Medalist
- Figurehead of Italy's dominant 'Valanga Azzurra' (Blue Avalanche) team of the 1970s
Italian Athletes