Patrick Russel

Last updated

Patrick Russel
Alpine skier
Patrick Russel c1970.jpg
Born22 December 1946 (1946-12-22) (age 76)
Chamonix, France
World Cup debut1968
Retired1872
World Championships
Teams1
Medals2
World Cup
Seasons5
Wins13
Podiums26
Overall titles0 (2nd in 1970)
Discipline titles3
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing Flag of France.svg  France
World Cup race podiums
Event1st2nd3rd
Slalom916
Giant slalom442
Total1358
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1970 Val Gardena Slalom
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1970 Val Gardena Combined

Patrick Russel (born 22 December 1946) is a former French Alpine ski racer and World Cup champion. He specialized in the technical disclipines (giant slalom and slalom) and won three discipline championships in the World Cup: slalom in 1969 and 1970 and giant slalom in 1971. He also won two silver medals in slalom and combined at the 1970 World Championships at Val Gardena, Italy.

Contents

Career

Russel was the son of Lee Russel, who was a marketing executive at the French ski manufacturer Rossignol. [1] He competed on the World Cup circuit from 1968 through 1972 and became the first male to win World Cup races in three straight years (1968–70) and in four straight years (1968–71). Overall, he won 13 World Cup races and achieved 26 podiums during his career, as well as three discipline championships (slalom in 1969 and 1970; giant slalom in 1971) and two World Championship silver medals in 1970. In 1970, he finished second overall in the World Cup (only 3 points) behind Karl Schranz, and in 1971 he was third overall behind Gustav Thöni.

In 1972, Russel broke his leg during a giant slalom in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, three weeks before the Winter Olympics and was unable to compete for the remainder of the season. [2] After the French men failed to medal during the Olympics, the French ski coach was replaced, and the new coach fired French stars Russel, Henri Duvillard and Jean-Noël Augert from the World Cup team at the start of 1973. [3] It has been suggested that a conflict between the two alpine cultures (alpine and urban) provoked by Bozon and Rossignol caused the firings, the three racers involved being encouraged to not take both training and races seriously just before they were fired. The coaches themselves resigned. Bozon got what he wanted and in the process destroyed the French ski team for years thereafter. All three skiers then turned professional and competed in the United States until their retirements. [3]

After his retirement from competition, Russel became a ski instructor in France at Les Arcs. [4]

World Cup victories

Season titles

SeasonDiscipline
1969 Slalom
1970 Slalom
1971 Giant slalom

Individual victories

13 total wins (9 slalom, 4 giant slalom)

DateLocationRace
25 February 1968 Flag of Norway.svg Oslo Slalom
10 March 1968 Flag of Slovenia.svg Kranjska Gora Slalom
19 January 1969 Flag of Austria.svg Kitzbühel Slalom
9 February 1969 Flag of Sweden.svg Åre Slalom
20 December 1969 Flag of Austria.svg Lienz Giant slalom
11 January 1970 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Wengen Slalom
18 January 1970 Flag of Austria.svg Kitzbühel Slalom
25 February 1970 Flag of France.svg Megève Slalom
8 March 1970 Flag of the United States.svg Heavenly Valley Giant slalom
15 March 1970 Flag of Norway.svg Voss Slalom
17 December 1970 Flag of France.svg Val-d'Isère Giant slalom
18 January 1971 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Adelboden Giant slalom
14 February 1971 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Mont St. Anne Slalom

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Claude Killy</span> French alpine skier

Jean-Claude Killy is a French former World Cup alpine ski racer. He dominated the sport in the late 1960s, and was a triple Olympic champion, winning the three alpine events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, becoming the most successful athlete there. He also won the first two World Cup titles, in 1967 and 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIS Alpine Ski World Cup</span> Top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA. It was soon backed by International Ski Federation president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon.

Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held 9–17 February at Chamrousse, southeast of Grenoble, France. Jean-Claude Killy of France won all three men's events, repeating Toni Sailer's triple-gold of 1956. Since Killy's feat, no male alpine ski racer has won three gold medals in a single Olympics..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annemarie Moser-Pröll</span> Austrian alpine skier

Annemarie Moser-Pröll is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Born in Kleinarl, Salzburg, she was the most successful female alpine ski racer during the 1970s, with six overall titles, including five consecutive. Moser-Pröll celebrated her biggest successes in downhill, giant slalom and combined races. In 1980, her last year as a competitor, she secured her third Olympic medal at Lake Placid and won five World Cup races. Her younger sister Cornelia Pröll is also a former Olympic alpine skier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piero Gros</span> Italian alpine skier

Piero "Pierino" Gros is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from northwestern Italy. He won the gold medal in slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and was the World Cup overall champion in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Theres Nadig</span> Swiss alpine skier

Marie-Theres Nadig is a retired Swiss alpine skier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Ligety</span> American alpine skier

Theodore Sharp Ligety is a retired American alpine ski racer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and an entrepreneur, having cofounded Shred Optics. Ligety won the combined event at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the giant slalom race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. He is also a five-time World Cup champion in giant slalom. Ligety won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2011 World Championships. He successfully defended his world title in giant slalom in 2013 in Schladming, Austria, where he also won an unexpected gold medal in the super-G and a third gold medal in the super combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Kidd</span> American alpine skier

William Winston Kidd is a former World Cup alpine ski racer, a member of the U.S. Ski Team from 1962 to 1970.

The 6th World Cup season began in December 1971 in Switzerland and concluded in March 1972 in France. Gustav Thöni of Italy won his second of three consecutive overall titles. Annemarie Pröll of Austria won the women's overall title, her second of five consecutive.

The 4th World Cup season began in December 1969 in France and concluded in March 1970 in Norway. Karl Schranz of Austria won his second consecutive overall title. Michèle Jacot of France won the women's overall title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav Thöni</span> Italian alpine skier

Gustav Thöni is an Italian retired alpine ski racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Schranz</span> Austrian alpine skier

Karl Schranz is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria, one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernhard Russi</span> Swiss alpine skier

Bernhard Russi is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. Born in Andermatt in the canton of Uri, he is an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Fernández Ochoa</span>

Francisco "Paquito" Fernández Ochoa was a World Cup alpine ski racer from Spain. Born in Madrid and raised north of the city in Cercedilla, he was the eldest of eight children whose father ran a ski school. Paquito raced in all of the alpine disciplines and specialized in slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Noël Augert</span> French alpine skier

Jean-Noël Augert is a French former alpine skier. He competed at the 1972 Olympics and finished in fifth place in the slalom and giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lara Gut-Behrami</span> Swiss alpine skier

Lara Gut-Behrami is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines and specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G. She won the gold medal in the Super-G event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Charles Bozon Jr. was an alpine ski racer and world champion from France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Janka</span> Swiss alpine skier

Carlo Janka is a Swiss former alpine ski racer. Born in Obersaxen, in the canton of Graubünden, he had the winter sports facilities right in front of his home. Janka has won gold medals at both the Winter Olympics and the World Championships, as well as one World Cup overall title, one discipline title and also, one unofficial alpine combined title.

Marilyn Cochran Brown is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States.

Otto Victor Tschudi Jr. is a Norwegian alpine skier best known for success in the American NCAA Skiing Championships and World Pro Skiing ski racing circuits. He participated at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble and at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, and achieved four top-ten results in World Cup slalom races. Between 1970 and 1972 he won five individual NCAA championships for the University of Denver Pioneers ski team while the team won two team championships. After the Sapporo Olympics Tschudi competed for eight seasons on the World Pro Skiing Tour, leading the Rossignol international team. He served as president of the Professional Ski Racers Association and as director of skiing at Winter Park Resort in Colorado. Tschudi later joined the financial-service firm Montgomery Securities in San Francisco, and rose to become a partner and managing director of international sales at Thomas Weisel Partners.

References

  1. Seth Massia (December 2007). Rossignol Turns 100. Skiing Heritage Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  2. "Ouch". St. Petersburg Times . 11 January 1972. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 William Oscar Johnson (12 April 1976). "The King of the Mountain". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  4. "Top Schools on the Slopes". New York Times . 7 November 1982. Retrieved 6 April 2010.