Didier Défago (born 2 October 1977) is a Swiss retired

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 name is ...

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 ...

. Born in Morgins,

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

, Défago made his World Cup debut at age 18 in March

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, and was Swiss national champion in downhill (2003) and

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

(2004). At the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, he won the downhill at Whistler to become the Olympic champion. 2010 Winter Olympics Didier Defago in downhill

Défago finished the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

World Cup season as sixth overall and fourth in 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 ...

, his most successful season so far. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

he won two downhill races in a row, the classics at

Wengen Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells t ...

and

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

. He was the first to win these in consecutive weeks since

Stephan Eberharter Stephan "Steff" Eberharter (born 24 March 1969) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Biography Born in Brixlegg, Tyrol, Eberharter was the winner of the overall World Cup title in 2002 and 2003, as well as the season titles in ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and the first Swiss racer since

Franz Heinzer Franz Heinzer (born 11 April 1962 in Rickenbach, Schwyz, Switzerland) is a former alpine ski racer, who specialized in downhill. He was World Cup champion in downhill three consecutive seasons (1991, 1992, 1993), second only to Franz Klammer ( ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. While training on a glacier above

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

in mid-September 2010, Defago fell and injured ligaments in his left knee, ending his

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

season. Défago announced his retirement in March 2015, after a second-place finish at the World Cup finals in the downhill in

Méribel Méribel () is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie department of France, near the town of Moûtiers (), called Méribel Centre, Méribe ...

, France, and had his final World Cup race the next day in the super-G.
– 18 March 2015

World Cup results

Season standings

Race podiums

* 5 wins – (3 Downhill (ski competition), DH, 2 SG) * 16 podiums – (5 Downhill (ski competition), DH, 7 SG, 3 AC, 1 GS)

World Championship results

Olympic results

References

External links

*
Didier Défago
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation * * *
YouTube video
– Didier Défago –

victory – 17 January 2009
YouTube video
– Didier Défago –

victory on full course – 24 January 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Defago, Didier Living people 1977 births Swiss male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Switzerland Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Skiers from Valais 21st-century Swiss sportsmen