Gustav Thöni (; sometimes listed as Gustavo Thoeni; born 28 February 1951) is an Italian retired alpine ski racer.

Career

Thöni was born in the German-speaking province of

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, in the hamlet of

Trafoi Stilfs (; it, Stelvio ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is located near the northern ramp of the Stelvio Pass. The municipality of Stilfs contains the ''frazione, frazioni'' (subdivisions, mainl ...

of the Stilfs municipality, which is situated on the northern ramp of the

Stelvio Pass ''Giogo dello Stèlvio''german: Stilfser Joch , photo = The_Stelvio_pass.jpg , photo_caption = Some of the 48 hairpin turns near the top of the eastern ramp of the Stelvio Pass , photo_alt = , map = Alps , map_caption = Location of Stelvio Pass in ...

. He currently operates a hotel there. Ranked among the greatest Italian skiers ever, Thöni won three

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medals and a total of four overall

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

titles in five years in the early 1970s. The four titles are an achievement he shares with

Pirmin Zurbriggen Pirmin Zurbriggen (born 4 February 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. One of the most successful ski racers ever, he won the overall World Cup title four times, an Olympic gold medal in 1988 in Downhill, and nine W ...

and

Hermann Maier Hermann Maier (born 7 December 1972) is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup tit ...

, exceeded by

Marcel Hirscher Marcel Hirscher (born 2 March 1989) is an Austrian former World Cup alpine ski racer. Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. He competed primarily in slalom and giant slalom, as well as combined and occasionally in super G. Winner of ...

's eight and

Marc Girardelli Marc Girardelli (born 18 July 1963) is an Austrian and Luxembourgish former alpine ski racer, a five-time World Cup overall champion who excelled in all five alpine disciplines. Biography Born in Lustenau, Austria, Girardelli started skiing at ...

's five. Thöni was the dominant skier in the technical events (

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

and

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

) in the early 1970s. At Val d'Isère, on December 12, 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 at

Val d'Isère Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...

, France, in December 1969. Still a teenager, he had a very successful rookie year during that 1970 season with four victories and nine podiums. He finished third in the overall standings, just eight points behind winner

Karl Schranz Karl Schranz (born 18 November 1938) is a former champion Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer from Austria, one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s. Born and raised in Sankt Anton am Arlberg, St. Anton, Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Schranz had a leng ...

of Austria. Thöni won the overall title the next three seasons of

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

– 73, and again in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He was succeeded as the dominant technical skier by

Ingemar Stenmark Jan Ingemar Stenmark (; born 18 March 1956) is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed fo ...

of Sweden, then by

Alberto Tomba Alberto Tomba (born 19 December 1966 in San Lazzaro di Savena) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier ( slalom and giant slalom) in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 182 cm and 90 kg, his powerfu ...

. The year that Thöni did not win (

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

), he was a close second to his fellow countryman and friend

Piero Gros Piero "Pierino" Gros (born 30 October 1954) 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. Biography Gro ...

. He did win two world titles that year, in giant slalom and slalom, at the 1974 World Championships, but those results were not included in the World Cup standings. Although he concentrated on the technical events, he did occasionally compete in the only speed event of the era, the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

(the

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...

was not run on the World Cup circuit until December 1982). His best finish in a downhill was a second place on the

Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel The Hahnenkamm is a mountain in Europe, directly southwest of Kitzbühel in the Kitzbühel Alps of Austria. The elevation of its summit is above sea level. The Hahnenkamm (''German'': rooster's comb) is part of the ski resort of Kitzbühel, a ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, in January 1975. After more than two minutes on the classic ''Streif'' course, he lost to the up-and-coming Austrian legend

Franz Klammer Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975– 78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbru ...

by just one-hundredth of a second, a distance of about at . This event inspired the 1981 movie ''Un centesimo di secondo'' by

Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian re ...

, which featured Thöni himself. Thöni also won a number of combined events (downhill & slalom) during his career, including the non-medal titles in the combined at the Olympics in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

(but counted as

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

titles). Thöni's final victory in a slalom came in March 1975 at Sun Valley. He won the final race of the season, a parallel slalom ("pro-style" heats) the following week in

Val Gardena Val Gardena (; german: Gröden ; lld, Gherdëina ) is a valley in Northern Italy, in the Dolomites of South Tyrol. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area. Geography The valley's main river is the Derjon, a ...

, Italy, against his challenger Stenmark 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 at

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...

in January 1977. His last podium finish was a third place in the slalom at

Åre Åre () is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the local eco ...

, Sweden, in February 1979. He finished eighth in the

at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

at Lake Placid. As the torch had been passed on to the two top finishers, Stenmark and American

Phil Mahre Phillip Ferdinand Mahre (born May 10, 1957) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American skiers of all time. His total of 27 World Cup race wins is fourth among Americans, only behind Lindsey Vonn, Mik ...

, Thöni retired from World Cup competition a month later in March 1980 at the age of 29. Later, he was a personal coach to

(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. 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" by

Rino Gaetano Salvatore Antonio "Rino" Gaetano (29 October 1950 – 2 June 1981) was an Italian musician and singer-songwriter. He is famous for his satirical songs and oblique yet incisive political commentary. He is remembered for his raspy voice, for the he ...

. His cousin

Roland Thöni Roland Thöni (17 January 1951 – 4 April 2021) was an Italian alpine ski racer. A cousin of Gustav Thöni, Roland competed on the World Cup circuit during the 1970s. Biography Roland Thöni was born in Trafoi, a ''frazione'' of Stilfs (South ...

was also a World Cup alpine ski racer in the 1970s. Roland took bronze in the slalom at the 1972 Olympics, while Gustav took the silver.

World Cup results

Season titles

* 8 titles (4 overall, 2 giant slalom, 2 slalom)

Season standings

Race victories

* 24 wins (11 GS, 8 SL, 4K, 1 PR) ** 69 podiums (2 DH, 26 GS, 32 SL, 8 K, 1 PR) *** 25 second places *** 20 third places *

races (over 300 starts)

World championship results

From 1948 through

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

were also the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).

Olympic results

Video

* * *

References

External links

* *
Gustav Thöni
at Bella-Vista.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoni, Gustav 1951 births Living people People from Stilfs Italian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Italy Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics Germanophone Italian people Olympic gold medalists for Italy Olympic silver medalists for Italy Olympic medalists in alpine skiing FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Alpine skiers of Fiamme Gialle Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Südtirol Italian alpine skiing coaches