Vreni Schneider

Vreni Schneider
Personal information
Born 26 November 1964 (1964-11-26) (age 52)
Elm, Switzerland
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
Sport Alpine skiing
Club SC Elm

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 third most successful female ski racer ever (after Lindsey Vonn and Annemarie Moser-Pröll) 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 three all-time among women to Moser-Pröll and Vonn). 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. Nobody had ever achieved this before (the Swede Ingemar Stenmark once won 13 races), and her record has yet to be beaten since then.

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 victories

Seasons

SeasonDiscipline
1986Giant Slalom
1987Giant Slalom
1989Overall
1989Giant Slalom
1989Slalom
1990Slalom
1991Giant Slalom
1992Slalom
1993Slalom
1994Overall
1994Slalom
1995Overall
1995Giant Slalom
1995Slalom

Individual races

Vreni Schneider won a total of 55 World Cup races: 20 Giant Slalom, 34 Slalom and one Combined.

Slalom

Date Location
17 December 1986 Courmayeur
14 February 1987 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
24 January 1988 Bad Gastein
16 December 1988 Altenmarkt im Pongau
20 December 1988 Courmayeur
3 January 1989 Maribor
8 January 1989 Mellau
15 January 1989 Grindelwald
3 March 1989 Furano
10 March 1989 Shigakogen
25 November 1989 Park City
6 January 1990 Piancavallo
9 January 1990 Hinterstoder
21 January 1990 Maribor
18 March 1990 Åre
11 March 1991 Lake Louise
30 November 1991 Lech am Arlberg
18 January 1992 Maribor
29 February 1992 Narvik
6 January 1993 Maribor
17 January 1993 Cortina d'Ampezzo
19 March 1993 Vemdalen
28 March 1993 Åre
28 November 1993 Santa Caterina
19 December 1993 St. Anton am Arlberg
9 January 1994 Altenmarkt im Pongau
23 January 1994 Maribor
5 February 1994 Sierra Nevada
10 March 1994 Mammoth Mountain
20 March 1994 Vail
27 November 1994 Park City
18 December 1994 Sestriere
26 February 1995 Maribor
19 March 1995 Bormio

Giant Slalom

Date Location
17 December 1984 Santa Caterina
17 March 1985 Waterville Valley
6 January 1986 Maribor
19 January 1986 Oberstaufen
20 March 1986 Waterville Valley
6 December 1986 Waterville Valley
5 January 1987 Saalbach-Hinterglemm
13 February 1987 Megève
22 March 1987 Sarajevo
5 January 1988 Tignes
28 November 1988 Les Menuires
18 December 1988 Valzoldana
6 January 1989 Schwarzenberg
7 January 1989 Schwarzenberg
21 January 1989 Tignes
8 March 1989 Shigakogen
11 January 1991 Kranjska Gora
17 March 1991 Vail
8 December 1991 Santa Caterina
5 January 1992 Oberstaufen

Combined

Date Race
16 December 1988 Altenmarkt im Pongau

References

  1. 1 2 Johnson, William Oscar (27 January 1988). "Smooth as Clockwork". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  2. Vreni Schneider. sports-reference.com

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Maria Walliser
Swiss Sportswoman of the Year
1988–1989
Succeeded by
Anita Protti
Preceded by
Anita Protti
Swiss Sportswoman of the Year
1991
Succeeded by
Conny Kissling
Preceded by
Manuela Maleeva
Swiss Sportswoman of the Year
1994–1995
Succeeded by
Barbara Heeb
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