Vreni Schneider
| Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Vreni Schneider at Internationale Sportnacht Davos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Alpine skiing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club | SC Elm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 November 1964 (age 56) Elm, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Verena "Vreni" Schneider (born 26 November 1964) is a retired ski racer from Switzerland. She is the most successful alpine ski racer of her country, the fourth most successful female ski racer ever (after Lindsey Vonn, Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mikaela Shiffrin) and was voted "Swiss Sportswoman of the Century".
Early life[]
Schneider was born in Elm, the daughter of a shoemaker. Her mother died of cancer when Schneider was a teenager: as a result she put her ski career on hold and dropped out of school to look after the family home.[1]
Racing career[]
Schneider made her World Cup debut at the age of 20.[1] Schneider won the overall alpine skiing World Cup three times and eleven discipline World Cups in Slalom and Giant Slalom, along with 55 World Cup races (number four all-time among women to Moser-Pröll, Vonn and Shiffrin). She also won five medals at the Winter Olympics including 3 golds (Slalom and Giant Slalom at Calgary in 1988 and Slalom at Lillehammer in 1994), and six medals at the World Championships including 3 more golds (Giant Slalom at Crans-Montana in 1987 and Vail in 1989; Slalom at Saalbach in 1991).[2]
During the 1988–89 season she won 14 World Cup races, a record for single season wins that stood until Shiffrin beat that record in the 2018–19 season.
In April 1995, after eleven successful seasons, she announced her retirement. Today she runs a ski and snowboard school in her home village of Elm as well as a sport equipment shop in Glarus.
Vreni Schneider is praised in the Half Man Half Biscuit song 'Uffington Wassail' thus: "Vreni Schneider – you’re my downhill lady! Vreni Schneider – you’re the queen of the slopes!" The song is on the album Trouble Over Bridgwater from the year 2000.
World Cup results[]
Season titles[]
14 titles (3 overall, 5 giant slalom, 6 slalom)
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Giant Slalom |
| 1987 | Giant Slalom |
| 1989 | Overall |
| Giant Slalom | |
| Slalom | |
| 1990 | Slalom |
| 1991 | Giant Slalom |
| 1992 | Slalom |
| 1993 | Slalom |
| 1994 | Overall |
| Slalom | |
| 1995 | Overall |
| Giant Slalom | |
| Slalom |
Season standings[]
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 20 | 9 | 22 | 3 | — | — | 17 |
| 1986 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 14 | — | 5 |
| 1987 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 1988 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 22 | — | 5 |
| 1989 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | — | 3 |
| 1990 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 25 | — | — |
| 1991 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 5 |
| 1995 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 23 | 2 |
Race victories[]
- 55 wins - (34 SL, 20 GS, 1 K)
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 17 December 1984 | Santa Caterina, Italy | Giant Slalom |
| 17 March 1985 | Waterville Valley, USA | Giant Slalom | |
| 1986 | 6 January 1986 | Maribor, Yugoslavia | Giant Slalom |
| 19 January 1986 | Oberstaufen, Germany | Giant Slalom | |
| 20 March 1986 | Waterville Valley, USA | Giant Slalom | |
| 1987 | 6 December 1986 | Giant Slalom | |
| 17 December 1986 | Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom | |
| 5 January 1987 | Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria | Giant Slalom | |
| 13 February 1987 | Megève, France | Giant Slalom | |
| 14 February 1987 | Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France | Slalom | |
| 22 March 1987 | Sarajevo, Yugoslavia | Giant Slalom | |
| 1988 | 5 January 1988 | Tignes, France | Giant Slalom |
| 24 January 1988 | Bad Gastein, Austria | Slalom | |
| 1989 | 28 November 1988 | Les Menuires, France | Giant Slalom |
| 16 December 1988 | Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria | Slalom | |
| Combined | |||
| 18 December 1988 | Val Zoldana, Italy | Giant Slalom | |
| 20 December 1988 | Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom | |
| 3 January 1989 | Maribor, Yugoslavia | Slalom | |
| 6 January 1989 | Schwarzenberg, Austria | Giant Slalom | |
| 7 January 1989 | Giant Slalom | ||
| 8 January 1989 | Mellau, Austria | Slalom | |
| 15 January 1989 | Grindelwald, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 21 January 1989 | Tignes, France | Giant Slalom | |
| 3 March 1989 | Furano, Japan | Slalom | |
| 8 March 1989 | Shigakogen, Japan | Giant Slalom | |
| 10 March 1989 | Slalom | ||
| 1990 | 25 November 1989 | Park City, USA | Slalom |
| 6 January 1990 | Piancavallo, Italy | Slalom | |
| 9 January 1990 | Hinterstoder, Austria | Slalom | |
| 21 January 1990 | Maribor, Yugoslavia | Slalom | |
| 18 March 1990 | Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 1991 | 11 January 1991 | Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia | Giant Slalom |
| 11 March 1991 | Lake Louise, Canada | Slalom | |
| 17 March 1991 | Vail, USA | Giant Slalom | |
| 1992 | 30 November 1991 | Lech, Austria | Slalom |
| 8 December 1991 | Santa Caterina, Italy | Giant Slalom | |
| 5 January 1992 | Oberstaufen, Germany | Giant Slalom | |
| 18 January 1992 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 29 February 1992 | Narvik, Norway | Slalom | |
| 1993 | 6 January 1993 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom |
| 17 January 1993 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Slalom | |
| 19 March 1993 | Vemdalen, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 28 March 1993 | Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 1994 | 28 November 1993 | Santa Caterina, Italy | Slalom |
| 19 December 1993 | St. Anton, Austria | Slalom | |
| 9 January 1994 | Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria | Slalom | |
| 23 January 1994 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 5 February 1994 | Sierra Nevada, Spain | Slalom | |
| 10 March 1994 | Mammoth Mountain, USA | Slalom | |
| 20 March 1994 | Vail, USA | Slalom | |
| 1995 | 27 November 1994 | Park City, USA | Slalom |
| 18 December 1994 | Sestriere, Italy | Slalom | |
| 26 February 1995 | Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 19 March 1995 | Bormio, Italy | Slalom |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Johnson, William Oscar (27 January 1988). "Smooth as Clockwork". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vreni Schneider". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
External links[]
- Website of Vreni Schneider's ski school (in German)
- International Olympic Committee profile
- International Olympic Committee story[dead link]
- Vreni Schneider at the International Olympic Committee
- Vreni Schneider at the International Ski Federation
- Vreni Schneider at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
show Olympic champions in alpine skiing – women's giant slalom |
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| show Olympic champions in alpine skiing – women's slalom |
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| show World champions in women's giant slalom |
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| show World champions in women's slalom |
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| show FIS Alpine Ski World Cup – Women's Overall winners |
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| show FIS Alpine Ski World Cup – Women's Slalom World Cup winners |
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| show FIS Alpine Ski World Cup – Women's Giant Slalom World Cup winners |
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Authority control  |
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- 1964 births
- Living people
- Swiss female alpine skiers
- Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland
- Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland
- Olympic bronze medalists for Switzerland
- Olympic alpine skiers of Switzerland
- Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
- FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions
- Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics