Gustav Thöni
| — Alpine ski racer — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Thöni in the Slalom at the 1970 World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines |
Giant Slalom, Slalom, Downhill, Combined | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | G.S. Fiamme Gialle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
February 28, 1951 Trafoi, South Tyrol, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut |
December 11, 1969 (age 18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | March 1980 (age 29) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 - (1972-80) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 3 (1 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams |
6 - (1970-80) (includes three Olympics) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 7 (5 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 11 - (1970-80) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 4 - (1971-73, '75) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 5 - (3 GS, 2 SL) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gustav Thöni (sometimes listed as Gustavo Thoeni) (born February 28, 1951) is a former champion alpine ski racer from northern Italy.
Career
Gustav Thöni was born in the German-speaking province of South Tyrol, in the hamlet of Trafoi which is part of the municipality of Stilfs, which is situated on the northern ramp of the Stelvio Pass. He currently operates a hotel there.
Ranked among the greatest Italian skiers ever, Thöni won three Olympic medals and a total of four overall World Cup titles in five years in the early 1970s. The four titles are an achievement he shares with Pirmin Zurbriggen and Hermann Maier, exceeded only by Marc Girardelli's five.
Thöni was the dominant skier in the technical events (slalom and giant slalom) in the early 1970s. His first victory came in his debut race on the World Cup circuit, a giant slalom at Val-d'Isère, France, in December 1969. Still a teenager, he had a very successful rookie year during that 1970 season with four victories and nine podiums. He finished third in the overall standings, just eight points behind winner Karl Schranz of Austria. Thöni would win the overall title the next three seasons of 1971–73, and again in 1975. He was succeeded as the dominant technical skier by Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, then by Alberto Tomba.
The year that Thöni did not win (1974), he was a close second to his fellow countryman and friend Piero Gros. The near-miss of five consecutive overall titles is a record that would most likely never have been broken.
Although he concentrated on the technical events, he did occasionally compete in the only speed event of the era, the downhill (the Super-G was not run on the World Cup circuit until December 1982). His best finish in a downhill was a second place on the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel, Austria, in January 1975. After more than two minutes on the classic Streif course, he lost to the up-and-coming Austrian legend Franz Klammer by just one-hundredth of a second, a distance of about 25 cm (10 inches) at 130 km/h (80 mph). This event inspired a low-success movie featuring Thöni himself, directed by Duccio Tessari in 1981.
Thöni also won a number of combined events (downhill & slalom) during his career, including the non-medal titles in the combined at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics (but counted as world championship titles).
Thöni's final victory in a slalom came in March 1975 at Sun Valley. He won the final race of the season, a parallel slalom ("pro-style" heats) the following week in Val Gardena, Italy, against his challenger Stenmark, securing the Cup. His last win in giant slalom was in January 1976, and his final World Cup victory was in the combined at Kitzbühel in January 1977. His last podium finish was a third place in the slalom at Åre, Sweden, in February 1979.
He finished eighth in the slalom at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. As the torch had been passed on to the two top finishers, Stenmark and American Phil Mahre, Thöni retired from World Cup competition a month later in March 1980 at the age of 29. He served as a trainer with the Italian Ski Team and was a mentor to Alberto Tomba.
His cousin Roland Thöni was also a World Cup alpine ski racer in the 1970s. Roland took bronze in the slalom at the 1972 Olympics, while Gustav took the silver.
World Cup results
Season standings
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 1 | not run | — | awarded only in 1976 & 1980 |
| 1971 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 1972 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 17 | ||
| 1973 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | ||
| 1974 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | — | ||
| 1975 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 1976 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | |
| 1977 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 10 | — | ||
| 1978 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 10 | 23 | ||
| 1979 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 20 | — | ||
| 1980 | 29 | 51 | 18 | — | — | — | |
Season titles
| Season | Discipline | |
|---|---|---|
|
1970 | Giant Slalom |
| 1971 | Overall | |
| Giant Slalom | ||
| 1972 | Overall | |
| Giant Slalom | ||
| 1973 | Overall | |
| Slalom | ||
| 1974 | Slalom | |
| 1975 | Overall |
Race victories
- 24 wins - (11 GS, 8 SL, 4K, 1 PR)
- 69 podiums - (2 DH, 26 GS, 32 SL, 8 K, 1 PR)
- 25 second places
- 20 third places
- 69 podiums - (2 DH, 26 GS, 32 SL, 8 K, 1 PR)
- World Cup races (over 300 starts)
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11 Dec 1969 |  Val d'Isère, France | Giant Slalom |
| 4 Jan 1970 |  Bad Hindelang, West Germany | Slalom | |
| 29 Jan 1970 |  Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Giant Slalom | |
| 30 Jan 1970 | Giant Slalom | ||
| 1971 | 10 Jan 1971 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 21 Feb 1971 |  Sugarloaf, ME, USA | Giant Slalom | |
| 25 Feb 1971 | Heavenly Valley, CA, USA | Slalom | |
| 27 Feb 1971 | Giant Slalom | ||
| 1972 | 2 Mar 1972 | Heavenly Valley, CA, USA | Giant Slalom |
| 1973 | 15 Jan 1973 |  Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant Slalom |
| 4 Feb 1973 |  St. Anton, Austria | Slalom | |
| 4 Mar 1973 |  Mont Ste. Anne, QC, Canada | Slalom | |
| 1974 | 20 Jan 1974 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant Slalom |
| 2 Mar 1974 |  Voss, Norway | Giant Slalom | |
| 10 Mar 1974 |  Vysoke Tatry, Czechoslovakia | Slalom | |
| 1975 | 12 Jan 1975 | Wengen, Switzerland | Combined |
| 19 Jan 1975 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Combined | |
| 30 Jan 1975 | Chamonix, France | Slalom | |
| 1 Feb 1975 | Megève, France | Combined | |
| 15 Mar 1975 | Sun Valley, ID, USA | Slalom | |
| 23 Mar 1975 | Val Gardena, Italy | Parallel | |
| 1976 | 5 Dec 1975 | Val d'Isère, France | Giant Slalom |
| 12 Jan 1976 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant Slalom | |
| 1977 | 16 Jan 1977 | Wengen, Switzerland | Combined |
See also
- Italian men gold medalist at the Olympics and World Championships
External links
-
Media related to Gustavo Thöni at Wikimedia Commons - Gustavo Thoeni at the International Ski Federation
- FIS-ski.com - World Cup season standings - Gustav Thöni - 1970-80
- Ski-db.com - results - Gustav Thoeni
- Sports Reference.com - Olympic results - Gustavo Thoeni
- bella-vista.it - Gustav Thöni
- YouTube.com - video - montage - Gustav Thöni
- YouTube.com - video - 1972 Winter Olympics - Gustav Thöni
- YouTube.com - video - Val Gardena, Italy - parallel slalom - Gustav Thöni & Ingemar Stenmark - 1975-03-23
| Winter Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Luciano De Paolis |
Flag bearer for Italy 1976 Innsbruck |
Succeeded by Gustav Thöni |
| Preceded by Gustav Thöni |
Flag bearer for Italy 1980 Lake Placid |
Succeeded by Paul Hildgartner |
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