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| Olympic medal record |
| Men’s Alpine Skiing |
| Bronze |
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
Combined |
| World Championships |
| Gold |
1937 Chamonix |
Downhill |
| Gold |
1937 Chamonix |
Slalom |
| Gold |
1937 Chamonix |
Combined |
| Gold |
1938 Engelberg |
Combined |
| Silver |
1935 Mürren |
Downhill |
| Silver |
1935 Mürren |
Combined |
| Silver |
1938 Engelberg |
Downhill |
| Silver |
1938 Engelberg |
Slalom |
Émile Allais (born February 25, 1912) is a former French Alpine skier who realised at hat-trick of victories in the 1937 championships in Chamonix. He is considered as the very first well-known French Alpine skier. He was born in Megève.
[edit] Biography
He won Bronze medals in downhill and slalom at the Garmisch winter olympics held in 1936, the first to feature downhill skiing disciplines. In 1937 he was world champion at Chamonix. He created the École Française de Ski which taught innovative French methods characterised by parallel turns and which is still now the biggest Ski school in the world in terms of numbers of ski teachers. It is present in every single French ski resort and even abroad.
After a spell in North and South America (Squaw Valley and Portillo) Allais held the post of technical director at Courchevel from 1954 to 1964 where he introduced many ideas from the USA regarding slope preparation and piste security. He later worked as a technical consultant for other resorts, notably La Plagne and Flaine. One of the Saulire couloirs at Courchevel is named after Allais.
In December 2005, 93 year old Allais made the trip to the French Senate in Paris where he was honoured along with a number of other ski instructors. His whole life has been all about skiing. He learned his skiing early. He raced all over Europe then coached the French Olympic skiing team for seven years. He fought World War II on skis. He even courted his wife at a ski meet.
[edit] External links
