Henri Duvillard (born 23 December 1947) is a French former

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

. He is one of just seven men to win World Cup races in every discipline contested at the time. Duvillard competed at the 1972 Olympics in the

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 ...

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 ...

and downhill events with the best result of fourth place in the slalom.

Career

Duvillard's World Cup career lasted from its inception in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

until

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, during which time he won six races, including the prestigious Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. His best results came in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, when he finished second in the overall standings, behind the legendary Gustav Thöni in consecutive seasons. Troubles with the French national team leadership led him to retire from World Cup competition, and he moved on to the United States. In November 1974, Duvillard joined the U.S. pro tour and finished second (to American Hank Kashiwa) for the 1975 season (Duvillard won more money, but Kashiwa won on points). Duvillard dominated the tour in 1976, and became the pro champion at age 28

After retiring from competition, Duvillard launched an eponymous French skiwear label. His mother-in-law May Nilsson, father-in-law

Maurice Lafforgue Maurice Lafforgue (26 March 1915 – 31 October 1999) was a French alpine skier who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. He was born in Bagnères-de-Luchon and was the father of Britt Lafforgue Britt Lafforgue (born 5 November 194 ...

, wife

Britt Lafforgue Britt Lafforgue (born 5 November 1948) is a French former alpine skier who competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held ...

, elder brother Adrien Duvillard, nephew Adrien Duvillard and son-in-law

Frédéric Covili Frédéric Covili (born 14 November 1975 in Moûtiers) is a French former alpine skier who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, ...

are all Olympic alpine skiers.

World Cup victories

6 total wins (3 downhill, 2 giant slalom, 1 slalom)

References

External links

* *
''Sports Illustrated''
– The King of the Mountain – 12 April 1976 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duvillard, Henri 1947 births Living people People from Megève Sportspeople from Haute-Savoie Skiers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for France Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics