Luxembourgish skier Mark Girardelli celebrates his 60th birthday today, famous as a phenomenal downhill skier. During his career, he won the major Crystal Globe five times for overall World Cup victories, which places him second only to Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who has eight total triumphs.
Girardelli, a specialist in twisting disciplines who also managed to win in the downhill, was born in Lustenau, Austria, but due to disputes with the local ski association, he competed for Luxembourg from the age of thirteen. He first celebrated overall victory in the World Cup in 1985, then won a record fifth championship eight years later.
He won a total of 46 World Cup races, only Swede Ingemar Stenmark (86), Austrians Hirscher (67) and Hermann Maier (54) and Italian Alberto Tomba (50) have more triumphs than him. He brought a total of eleven medals from the world championships – four gold, four silver and three bronze.
However, Girardelli did not do well in the Olympics. He never achieved gold and won “only” two silver medals. Both – in giant and super giant slalom – in 1992 in Albertville.
He retired from his professional career in 1997 due to persistent health problems and has been in business ever since. His activities also brought him to the Czech Republic several times.
2023-07-18 18:32:04
#Austrians #didnt #Girardelli #ruled #slopes #flag #Luxembourg
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