Alberto Tomba
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Olympic medalist | |||
Tomba at the 2006 Winter Olympics. |
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Medal record | |||
Men’s Alpine skiing | |||
---|---|---|---|
Gold | 1988 Calgary | Slalom | |
Gold | 1988 Calgary | Giant slalom | |
Gold | 1992 Albertville | Giant slalom | |
Silver | 1992 Albertville | Slalom | |
Silver | 1994 Lillehammer | Slalom | |
World Championships | |||
Gold | 1996 Sierra Nevada | Slalom | |
Gold | 1996 Sierra Nevada | Giant Slalom | |
Bronze | 1987 Crans-Montana | Giant Slalom | |
Bronze | 1997 Sestrières | Slalom |
Alberto Tomba (born December 19, 1966), popularly called Tomba la Bomba ("Tomba the Bomb"), is a retired Italian alpine skier. He scored notable success in the late 1980s and 1990s in the slalom and giant slalom, winning three Olympic gold medals.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Tomba was born to Marco and Maria Grazia Tomba in Castel de Britti, San Lazzaro di Savena, a hamlet not far from Bologna — an area without strong alpine traditions. As a child, he participated in sports like tennis, soccer, and dirt biking, but he found that his greatest passion was for skiing.
In 1981 he took part in the Junior World Championships, where a fourth-place finish won him a position on the national B team. That year, in a parallel slalom exhibition in San Siro, Milan, he surprised everyone by beating every member of the A team. After three wins on the Europa Cup circuit, the 19-year-old Tomba made his World Cup debut in 1985 at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. One year later, in Åre, Sweden, he surprised the skiing world by finishing sixth from the 62nd starting position. His first podium came in Alta Badia, Italy at the beginning of the 1986-87 season, and later that winter he won bronze in the giant slalom at the 1987 World Championships in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
[edit] Rise to fame as Olympic champion
On November 27, 1987, Tomba scored his first World Cup victory, in a slalom at Sestriere, Italy. Two days later he won the giant slalom, beating his idol, Ingemar Stenmark. It was now clear that Tomba was a force to be reckoned with in the alpine skiing world.
He went on to win nine races that season, winning the World Cup titles in both slalom and giant slalom, but he finished second to Swiss legend Pirmin Zurbriggen in the overall standings. During this early part of his career, Tomba also competed in super G, an event he would continue to run until 1989 despite never finishing better than fourth.
At the 1988 Winter Olympics, Tomba won gold medals in both slalom and giant slalom. In the first run of the GS, he finished a record-setting 1.14 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. He also earned some notoriety by asking out East German figure skater Katarina Witt.
Tomba was not as successful in the following two seasons, winning a total of four World Cup races. At the 1989 World Championships in Vail, USA, he could do no better than sixth place in the super G and a dismaying seventh in the giant slalom.
In the 1990-91 World Cup, Tomba returned to his winning ways, winning the giant slalom for a second time while finishing fourth in the slalom standings.
Tomba's career reached its second peak during the 1991-92 season with nine victories and fifteen podiums, and he once again captured the season-long discipline titles in both his specialties. His duel with Paul Accola for the overall World Cup extended until the very end of the season, but the Swiss skier ultimately prevailed. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Tomba won what was to be his last gold medal, in the giant slalom, and picked up a silver in the slalom thanks to a spectacular second run.
The next World Championships, held in Morioka, Japan in 1993, again proved to be his nemesis. Tomba was suffering from a fever during the giant slalom and made a critical mistake in the slalom, failing to reach the podium in either race. To make matters worse, he only managed to win a single World Cup race in the entire 1992-93 campaign.
[edit] Overall World Cup champion
Tomba was back to his usual ways at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. After the first run of the slalom, he was seemingly out of medal contention, 1.84 seconds behind leader Thomas Stangassinger, but a stunning second run rocketed him to second place and a silver medal.
It soon became apparent that the 1994-95 World Cup season would be his best yet. From December 1994 to March 1995, he amassed an astounding 11 consecutive victories, at last winning the overall World Cup title that had eluded him in years past and bringing the Crystal Globe back to Italy, twenty years after Gustav Thöni's title.
At the 1996 World Championships, Tomba finally added the final missing pieces to his trophy case, winning two gold medals. His GS victory came thanks to a second-run rally from 0.81 seconds behind.
After the 1996 World Championships, Tomba began contemplating retirement. He decided to come back for one more World Championship, held in 1997 on his home snow in Sestriere. He was disqualified in the giant slalom and had a disappointing first run in the slalom, but an excellent second run was good enough for his last major medal, a bronze. He decided to continue competing for one more year.
Tomba's performance at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano was a sign that his career was winding to a close: for the first time in his Olympic career, he failed to medal. Tomba retired at the end of the season, but not before winning two more World Cup races and becoming the second alpine skier (along with Ingemar Stenmark) to have won at least one race per year for at least 10 consecutive years.
[edit] Medals
[edit] Winter Olympic Games
- 3 gold, 2 silver (see table)
[edit] Alpine skiing World Championships
- 1987, Crans Montana: bronze in giant slalom
- 1996, Sierra Nevada: gold in giant slalom, gold in the slalom
- 1997, Sestriere: bronze in slalom
[edit] Alpine skiing World Cup
-
- 50 victories (35 in slalom, 15 in giant slalom), including 11 consecutive wins in 1994-95)
- 28 second-place finishes
- 11 third-place finishes
[edit] Overall and single discipline results
Season | Discipline |
---|---|
1988 | Giant Slalom |
1988 | Slalom |
1991 | Giant Slalom |
1992 | Giant Slalom |
1992 | Slalom |
1994 | Slalom |
1995 | Overall |
1995 | Giant Slalom |
1995 | Slalom |
[edit] Race victories
[edit] Trivia
- In 2003, the Bansko resort in Bulgaria opened a piste named in Tomba's honor. The Pista Alberto Tomba is a long, wide black-diamond run, one of the best at the resort.
- Tomba was not known for his modesty, he bragged at the 1988 Olympics that if he won a second gold medal "his papa would buy him a Ferrari".
[edit] External links
- AlbertoTomba.com - official site
- AskMen.com - interview
- FIS - complete results
- Ski-DB - results and statistics
1948: Edy Reinalter | 1952: Othmar Schneider | 1956: Toni Sailer | 1960: Ernst Hinterseer | 1964: Josef Stiegler | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1972: Francisco Fernández-Ochoa | 1976: Piero Gros | 1980: Ingemar Stenmark | 1984: Phil Mahre | 1988: Alberto Tomba | 1992: Finn Christian Jagge | 1994: Thomas Stangassinger | 1998: Hans Petter Buraas | 2002: Jean-Pierre Vidal | 2006: Benjamin Raich
1952: Stein Eriksen | 1956: Toni Sailer | 1960: Roger Staub | 1964: François Bonlieu | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1972: Gustav Thöni | 1976: Heini Hemmi | 1980: Ingemar Stenmark | 1984: Max Julen | 1988: Alberto Tomba | 1992: Alberto Tomba | 1994: Markus Wasmeier | 1998: Hermann Maier | 2002: Stephan Eberharter | 2006: Benjamin Raich
1967: Jean-Claude Killy | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1969: Karl Schranz | 1970: Karl Schranz | 1971: Gustav Thöni | 1972: Gustav Thöni | 1973: Gustav Thöni | 1974: Piero Gros | 1975: Gustav Thöni | 1976: Ingemar Stenmark | 1977: Ingemar Stenmark | 1978: Ingemar Stenmark | 1979: Peter Lüscher | 1980: Andreas Wenzel | 1981: Phil Mahre | 1982: Phil Mahre | 1983: Phil Mahre | 1984: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1985: Marc Girardelli | 1986: Marc Girardelli | 1987: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1988: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1989: Marc Girardelli | 1990: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1991: Marc Girardelli | 1992: Paul Accola | 1993: Marc Girardelli | 1994: Kjetil André Aamodt | 1995: Alberto Tomba | 1996: Lasse Kjus | 1997: Luc Alphand | 1998: Hermann Maier | 1999: Lasse Kjus | 2000: Hermann Maier | 2001: Hermann Maier | 2002: Stephan Eberharter | 2003: Stephan Eberharter | 2004: Hermann Maier | 2005: Bode Miller | 2006: Benjamin Raich | 2007: Aksel Lund Svindal
1931: David Zogg | 1932: Friedl Däuber | 1933: Anton Seelos | 1934: Franz Pfnür | 1935: Anton Seelos | 1936: Rudolph Matt | 1937: Émile Allais | 1938: Rudolf Rominger | 1939: Rudolf Rominger | 1948: Edy Reinalter | 1950: Georges Schneider | 1952: Othmar Schneider | 1954: Stein Eriksen | 1956: Toni Sailer | 1958: Josef Rieder | 1960: Ernst Hinterseer | 1962: Charles Bozon | 1964: Josef Stiegler | 1966: Carlo Senoner | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1970: Jean-Noël Augert | 1972: Francisco Fernández Ochoa | 1974: Gustav Thöni | 1976: Piero Gros | 1978: Ingemar Stenmark | 1980: Ingemar Stenmark | 1982: Ingemar Stenmark | 1985: Jonas Nilsson | 1987: Frank Wörndl | 1989: Rudolf Nierlich | 1991: Marc Girardelli | 1993: Kjetil André Aamodt | 1996: Alberto Tomba | 1997: Tom Stiansen | 1999: Kalle Palander | 2001: Mario Matt | 2003: Ivica Kostelić | 2005: Benjamin Raich | 2007: Mario Matt
1950: Zeno Colò | 1952: Stein Eriksen | 1954: Stein Eriksen | 1956: Toni Sailer | 1958: Toni Sailer | 1960: Roger Staub | 1962: Egon Zimmermann | 1964: François Bonlieu | 1966: Guy Périllat | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1970: Karl Schranz | 1972: Gustav Thöni | 1974: Gustav Thöni | 1976: Heini Hemmi | 1978: Ingemar Stenmark | 1980: Ingemar Stenmark | 1982: Steve Mahre | 1985: Markus Wasmeier | 1987: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1989: Rudolf Nierlich | 1991: Rudolf Nierlich | 1993: Kjetil André Aamodt | 1996: Alberto Tomba | 1997: Michael von Grünigen | 1999: Lasse Kjus | 2001: Michael von Grünigen | 2003: Bode Miller | 2005: Hermann Maier | 2007: Aksel Lund Svindal
Categories: 1966 births | Living people | Italian alpine skiers | People from Emilia-Romagna | Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics | Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics | Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics | Alpine skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics | Winter Olympics medalists | Olympic gold medalists for Italy | Olympic silver medalists for Italy