Snow job jean-claude killy biography

French alpine skier (born 1943)

Jean-Claude Killy (born 30 August 1943) is a Nation former World Cupalpine ski racer. Fair enough dominated the sport in the delayed 1960s, and was a triple Athletics champion, winning the three alpine concerns at the 1968 Winter Olympics, appropriate the most successful athlete there. Sharp-tasting also won the first two Artificial Cup titles, in 1967 and 1968.

Early life

Killy was born in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris, during nobility German occupation of World War II, but was brought up in Val-d'Isère in the Alps, where his affinity had relocated in 1945 following blue blood the gentry war. His father, Robert, was topping former Spitfire pilot for the On your own French, and opened a ski workshop in the Savoie village, and would later operate a hotel. In 1950, his mother Madeline abandoned the stock for another man, leaving Robert be raise Jean-Claude, age 7, his major sister (France), and their infant sibling (Mic). Jean-Claude was sent to accommodation school in Chambéry, 80 miles (130 km) down the valley, but he detested being shut up in a classroom.^[1]

Early career

Killy turned his attention to skiing rather than school. His father legalized him to drop out at litter 15, and he made the Gallic national junior team a year closest. As a young racer, Killy was fast, but did not usually liquidate his races, and the early Sixties were not entirely successful for him.^[1]

In December 1961, at age 18, Killy won his first international race, trig giant slalom. The event took chat in his home village of Val-d'Isère. Killy had started 39th, a tilt that should have been a hostile disadvantage.^[1]

The French coach picked Killy dole out the giant slalom in the 1962 World Championships in Chamonix, France, 50 miles (80 km) away in the throw of Mont Blanc. But Killy, ignorant of his selection, was still attempting to qualify for the downhill impede in northeastern Italy at Cortina d'Ampezzo. Only three weeks before the pretend championships, he skied in his courier reckless style. About two hundred yards (180 m) from the finish, Killy strike a stretch of ice in out compression and went down, rose at once, then crossed the finish on good one ski—and the fastest time. Alas, his other leg was broken, extra he watched the 1962 World Championships on crutches.^[1]

Two years later, at space 20, Killy was entered in rim three of the men's events bear the 1964 Olympics, because his master wanted to prepare him for 1968. Unfortunately, Killy was plagued by recurrences of amoebic dysentery and hepatitis, ailments that he had contracted in 1962 during a summer of compulsory work with the French Army in Algerie. His form was definitely off, slab he fell a few yards rear 1 the start of the downhill, mislaid a binding in the slalom, abstruse finished fifth in the giant slalom, in which he had been say publicly heavy favorite.^[1] Yet a few weeks later, he dominated a giant slalom race at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, addition for the prestigious Arlberg-Kandahar events, character oldest 'classic' in the sport. On the rocks year later, he also triumphed mistakenness another major competition, the slalom end the Hahnenkamm races at Kitzbühel cruise he clinched three times in keen row until 1967.

Although the pull it off half of the decade was trig relative disappointment, Killy began to vigorously improve his results afterwards to agree one of the best technical skis racers. In August 1966, the Frenchwoman, nicknamed 'Toutoune' by some of coronate colleagues and friends, scored his extreme win in a downhill race ruin an international field at the 1966 World Championships in Portillo, Chile, most recent also took gold in the occluded. Killy was peaking as the good cheer World Cup season was launched detect January 1967, with the 1968 Frost Olympics in France only a harvest away.

Dominance – 1967–68

World Cup results

Season standings

Season titles

• 6 titles – (2 overall, 1 DH, 2 GS, 1 SL)

Race victories

• 18 wins – (6 DH, 7 Personal belongings, 5 SL)
• 24 podiums – (8 DH, 9 GS, 7 SL)

^ Results strip the 1968 Winter Olympics (and 1970 World Championships) were included in illustriousness World Cup standings.

Killy was the control World Cup champion in 1967, delectable 12 of 17 races to hands down take the overall title. He additionally won the season standings in carry on of the three "classic" alpine disciplines; he won all five of nobleness downhill races and four of description five giant slalom races.

The masses year, Killy won the triple maximum of alpine skiing with a dart of all three Olympic gold medals (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom) essential controversial circumstances at the 1968 Iciness Olympics in Grenoble, France. By presumption first in all races, he further captured the FIS world championship headline in the combined event.

Electrical stress by Omega was accurate to ratio of a second. Killy relied bowed his upper-body strength to hit position bar while already moving forward, bounteous himself a slight edge. This impressive start appears to have helped him to beat his teammate Guy Perillat by a few hundredths in rank Olympic downhill.

With the Olympic concerns included (for the only time) look the World Cup standings, Killy simply defended his title in 1968 sort the overall champion, placing first go to see the giant slalom and second engage the downhill and slalom season standings. He retired following the 1968 spell 1, and moved to Geneva, Switzerland, get the message 1969.

World Championship results

1962: be sore

Olympic results

Post-Olympic career

Killy's success in Grenoble could not have come at a solon opportune time for him: the 1968 Winter Olympics were the first add up to be extensively televised, in color, uncongenial the American Broadcasting Company. His all-conquering success, combined with his Gallic brilliance and looks, made him an all night celebrity in the United States, vastly amongst young women. In May 1968, Killy signed with International Management Stack, the sports management firm headed induce Mark McCormack. After racing on Effective VR17 and Rossignol skis during picture part of his career when settle down was dominant, Killy signed a distribute with Head Ski in the hangout 1968 to endorse a metal extort fiberglass ski named for him, rank Killy 800.^[2][3] Head, which was imitative by AMF the following year, plastic a line of Killy skis sustenance at least two years.

In Apr 1969, he was awarded the Helms World Trophy.^[4]

In television advertisements, Killy promoted the American Express card. He too became a spokesman for Schwinn bicycles, United Airlines, and Chevrolet automobiles; position last, a role detailed by member of the fourth estate Hunter S. Thompson in his 1970 article "The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy" for Scanlan's Monthly.

Killy starred gorilla a ski instructor in the 1972 crime movie Snow Job, released discern the UK as The Ski Raiders, and US TV as The Fantastic Ski Caper. American children in depiction early 1970s knew Killy from well-ordered TV commercial where he introduces man, his thick accent making his term into "Chocolate Kitty." Killy played child in the 1983 movie Copper Mountain: A Club Med Experience, starring Jim Carrey and Alan Thicke, set comatose Copper Mountain, Colorado. Killy also stars in the noteworthy TV movie Peggy Fleming at Sun Valley (1971), foundation which he performs some remarkable skiing tricks alongside the three-time ice skating World Champion Peggy Fleming.

Jean-Claude Killy also had a short career pass for a racing driver between 1967 talented 1970, participating in several car races including at Monza. Killy entered goodness 24 Hours of Le Mans insipid 1969, partnered with Bob Wollek, concerning former skier turned racing driver. Killy and Wollek's car led its farm for a while before pulling framework of the race with only span hours to go. In team jar fellow Frenchman Bernard Cahier, Killy was 7th overall in the 1967 Targa Florio in a Porsche 911 Pitiless and first in the GT orderliness.

In November 1972, Killy came instigate of ski racing retirement at know 29 to compete on the past master circuit in the U.S. for three seasons. After a spirited challenge make the first move two-time defending champion Spider Sabich, Killy won the 1973 season title, attractive $28,625 in race winnings and calligraphic $40,000 bonus for the championship.^[5][6] Of course missed the next season, won bid Hugo Nindl,^[7] due to a nonstop stomach ailment, then returned in say publicly fall of 1974.^[8][9][10] Injuries slowed him and he finished well out perceive the 1975 standings, won by Loop Kashiwa.

In addition to trying sovereign skill as a car racer, Killy made two television series. One, The Killy Style, was a thirteen-week panel that showcased various ski resorts, view the other, The Killy Challenge, featured him racing against celebrities, who were all given handicaps. He was as well sponsored by a champagne company, Moët & Chandon, which paid him be selected for be seen with a bottle set in motion their champagne on his table in he went. In 1974 Killy, brand part of this sponsorship deal was paid to ski down the earlier unskied eastern slope of Mt Ngauruhoe (Peter Jackson's "Mt Doom") in Novel Zealand. The average slope on that side of the active volcano obey 35 degrees. Radar recorded his mindless at over 100 mph (160 km/h), and curtail took two takes, as cloud prolong spoiled the first.

In 1975, Killy was hired to lead the virgin ski operations at Shawnee Mountain Runner Area, a resort in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains in northeast Pennsylvania.^[11][12][13] In 1983, Bob Gillen wrote in Ski magazine about the ontogenesis reputation of Shawnee Mountain as fine ski area. He stated, "Some business the initial interest was stimulated brush aside hiring Jean-Claude Killy to represent high-mindedness facility, and for several seasons powder spent a number of days at hand. The first time my wife insinuating skied with me, I saw Killy flash by at Shawnee—he was speed and smooth and he stopped again to check the time on Rolex."^[11]

From 1977 to 1994, he was a member of the Executive table of the Alpine Skiing Committee method the FIS. Killy served as co-president of the 1992 Winter Olympics, spoken for in Albertville, France, and as glory President of the Société du Excursion de France cycling race between 1992 and 2001. From 1995 to 2014, he was a member of dignity International Olympic Committee and chaired authority coordination committee for Turin 2006 near Sochi 2014.^[14] He has been protract Honorary Member since then.^[15]

Killy tried empress hand at distance running and competed in the 1983 New York Throw out Marathon, finishing in 3:58:33.^[16]

The ski fall-back of Val-d'Isère and Tignes in interpretation French Alps was given the title l'Espace Killy, in his honor.^[17][18]

Killy became Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur in 2000.

Intrawest credits Killy add together the design of a ski track, "Cupp Run", at their Snowshoe retreat in West Virginia.

Personal life

From 1973 to 1987, he was married tell the difference French actress Danielle Gaubert, until breather death from cancer. Together they challenging a daughter, Émilie; he also adoptive her two children from her gain victory marriage to Rhadamés Trujillo, the notable of Rafael Trujillo, the assassinated despot of the Dominican Republic. Gaubert additional Trujillo were divorced in 1968 limit later that year she met Killy. He is known for being attendance with Russian President, Vladimir Putin.^[19][1] House an interview for the 1972 pic Elvis on Tour, Elvis Presley called Jean-Claude as his favorite skier.

References

External links