Henri Oreiller (5 December 1925 – 7 October 1962) was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He won two gold medals and a bronze at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

, becoming the most successful athlete those Games in St. Moritz,

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 ...

.Henri Oreiller
. Sports Reference

Biography

Born in Paris, the son of Léon Oreiller, of Italian origin, and Marguerite Favre, from

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

. His parents lived in Paris and frequented

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 ...

for holidays. Oreiller was a member of Section Eclairuers Skieurs, a specialist skiing section of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the liberation of Paris he fought in the Alps in an elite winter combat unit of the French Army. Nicknamed the "Parisian of Val d'Isère" or the "madman of downhill", he was the inaugural

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 ...

gold medallist at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics, with a record margin of four seconds over the runner-up. His medals cache included: the gold medal in the combined event, and the bronze medal in the special

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 ...

. He missed one of his medal ceremonies because he was playing

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

in a local bar, and received his medal a week later. He competed in the 1950 World Championships at

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and finished fourth in the new event, the

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 ...

. At the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Oreiller was 14th in the

and 16th in the

. Obsessed with speed, Oreiller retired from ski racing in 1952 at age 26 to take up

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

. Ten years later, he had a racing car accident which took his life on 7 October 1962. A tire blowout at caused his

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

to flip at the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome and he later died at

Hôpital Cochin The Hôpital Cochin is a hospital of public assistance in the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jacques Paris 14e. It houses the central burn treatment centre of the city. The Hôpital Cochin is a section of the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes. It comm ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. At his shrine at Val d'Isère, where he is interred next to his wife, testimonies from around the world bear witness to his abilities.

Arlberg-Kandahar The Arlberg-Kandahar race (often abbreviated A-K or AK) is an annual alpine skiing event. The first edition of the race was held in 1928 in St. Anton, in the Arlberg district of Austria. The location originally alternated between St. Anton and M� ...

*Best result: 2nd place in slalom 1947 a

Mürren Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of above sea level and it cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland, and summer and wi ...

and 1950 a

Others

*Winner of the Harriman Cup in 1949 in Sun Valley in the U.S., in downhill, slalom, and combined. *Champion of France in special slalom in 1947.

Motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

*Champion of France in "touring" category in 1959. * Tour de France 1959, winner on points. *Lyon-Carbonniere Rallye in 1960 and 1961.

References

External links

* *
Encyclopædia Britannica
– Henri Oreiller * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oreiller, Henri 1925 births 1962 deaths Sportspeople from Paris French Resistance members French military personnel of World War II French male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of France Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France French racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Olympic medalists in alpine skiing World Sportscar Championship drivers Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics