| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Alpine Skiing | ||
| Gold | 1976 Innsbruck | Slalom |
| World Championships | ||
| Silver | 1978 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Slalom |
| Bronze | 1974 St. Moritz | Giant Slalom |
Piero Gros (born October 30, 1954 in Sauze d'Oulx, Piedmont) is an Italian former champion alpine ski racer. He won the gold medal in slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and was World Cup overall champion in 1974.
Gros was born at Sauze d'Oulx, in the province of Turin. He started very early to ski, thanks to Aldo Monaci and Aldo Zulian. At the age of 8 he was for the first time on the podium of local race. Gros made his debut in the Alpine Skiing World Cup in December 1972, at age 18. In that 1973 season, he won two races in Val d'Isère and Madonna di Campiglio; he was the youngest Italian skier ever to win a World Cup race. Two years later he won the overall title, sharing this result in Italy only with his friend and rival Gustav Thöni, and with Alberto Tomba. Thöni had won the overall title the three preceding seasons and would reclaim it in 1975; he was the runner-up in 1974, and if not for Gros, would've won an unthinkable five consecutive overall titles. Gros also won the bronze medal in the giant slalom at the 1974 World Championships in St. Moritz.
His most notable and best result was the gold medal in the slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics: he preceded the silver medalist Thöni, in the most successful race ever for Italy at the Winter Olympics. According to Gros, that race was also significant in which he defeated the then almost unbeatable Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, to which Gros had been second for six times in that 1976 World Cup season. Gros won another world championship medal in 1978, taking silver in slalom. Stenmark's dominance was the major factor in Gros' limited success in the late 1970s.
During his career, Piero Gros won a total of 12 World Cup races; 7 in giant slalom and 5 in slalom. He had 35 World Cup podiums (top 3) and 98 top ten finishes. [1] Gros etired from international competition following the 1982 season, at the age of 27.
From 1985-90 he was major of the native village of Sauze d'Oulx. In the meantime he worked as sport commentator for various television stations, including RAI, the Italian State Network.
His son Giorgio is also an alpine ski racer, who has competed in several World Cup races.
12 victories (7 giant slalom, 5 slalom)
| Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|
| 1972-Dec-17 | Madonna di Campiglio | Slalom |
| 1972-Dec-18 | Val d'Isère | Giant Slalom |
| 1973-Dec-17 | Sterzing | Slalom |
| 1974-Jan-07 | Berchtesgaden | Giant Slalom |
| 1974-Jan-13 | Morzine | Giant Slalom |
| 1974-Mar-03 | Voss | Slalom |
| 1974-Mar-09 | Vysoké Tatry (town) | Giant Slalom |
| 1974-Dec-05 | Val d'Isère | Giant Slalom |
| 1974-Dec-18 | Madonna di Campiglio | Giant Slalom |
| 1975-Jan-06 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Slalom |
| 1975-Jan-13 | Adelboden | Giant Slalom |
| 1975-Jan-19 | Kitzbühel | Slalom |
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