Leonardo David (27 September 1960 – 26 February 1985) was a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

from northwestern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Biography

Born in

Gressoney-Saint-Jean Gressoney-Saint-Jean (; Gressoney ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy. Geography The town is situated in the Lys valley. History, Walser culture and language Though Gressoney-Saint-Jean and Gressoney- ...

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

, he died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

Gressoney-La-Trinité Gressoney-La-Trinité (; Gressoney or ''Greschòney Oberteil''; ) is a town or ''comune, commune'' and renowned alpine resort at the foot of Monte Rosa in the Lys (Dora Baltea), Lys Valley, which is part of the Aosta Valley region of Northwest It ...

after nearly six years in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

, caused by injuries he sustained in a fall near Lake Placid,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, on 3 March

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. David fell a few meters before the finish of the pre-

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

downhill at

Whiteface Mountain Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in the U.S. state of New York, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, located in the town of Wilmington in Essex County. Set apart from most of the other High Peaks, the summ ...

. He slid mostly on his back and his skis remained on. After coming to a stop, David arose and skied over to his coach, bent down to remove his skis, and collapsed. He was airlifted by military helicopter to

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, where surgeons removed a blood clot in his brain. He had fallen two weeks earlier, in the downhill race of the Italian national championships at

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

, and a friend reported David had complained of ongoing headaches since. He had been examined by a

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...

, but was allowed to join the Italian team for the conclusion of the World Cup season in North America and Japan. Then age 18, David was a promising talent on the Italian team, in his first year on the World Cup circuit. He won the overall and slalom titles of the European Cup in 1978, and placed second in giant slalom. He won his only World Cup race, a slalom in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, less than a month before his accident, outpacing

Ingemar Stenmark Jan Ingemar Stenmark (; born 18 March 1956) is a Swedish former FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. He is regarded as a legendary skier and one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, having won several Oly ...

and

Phil Mahre Phillip Ferdinand Mahre (born May 10, 1957) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American skiers of all time. Mahre competed on the World Cup circuit from 1976 to 1984. Starting with the 1978 season, Ma ...

. David had 10 top ten finishes with four podiums during the

World Cup season, and finished in 11th place in the overall standings with 85 points. After nearly three months in a coma in Burlington, David was flown to Italy on a special U.S. military transport in late May, and hospitalized in

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

. In late July, David was flown to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, for intensified treatment and was thought to be emerging from the coma in September. More than three years later, he was taken to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(St. Petersburg) in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for a last-ditch effort to revive him in December 1982. He died at home in February 1985 of an apparent heart attack. In 1990, three physicians were indicted on manslaughter charges in Italy on the grounds that David should not have been allowed to compete after his fall at Cortina d'Ampezzo. David's parents run a small ski shop at Gressoney and it is kept as a small museum in memory of their son. Visitors can see his skis, Italian ski team posters on the shop roof showing him, with

Piero Gros Piero "Pierino" Gros (born 30 October 1954) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from northwestern Italy. He won the gold medal in slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and was the World Cup overall champion in 1974. Biography Gro ...

, and

Gustav Thöni Gustav Thöni (; sometimes listed as Gustavo Thoeni; born 28 February 1951) is an Italian retired World Cup alpine ski racer. Career Thöni was born in the German-speaking province of South Tyrol, in the hamlet of Trafoi of the Stilfs munici ...

among others, all his trophies and some pictures. At the front wall of the parish church in Gressoney-Saint-Jean a memorial plaque is dedicated to David, and a racing

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

is named after him in Gressoney Saint Jean.

World Cup results

Season standings

*Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).

Race podiums

* 1 win (1 SL) * 4 podiums (1 GS, 3 SL), 10 top tens (5 GS, 5 SL)

Video

References

External links

* *
Sport Vintage
– Leonardo David – ' {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Leonardo 1960 births 1985 deaths Skiing deaths Sport deaths in Italy Skiers from Aosta Valley Italian male alpine skiers People with disorders of consciousness People with traumatic brain injuries People from Gressoney-Saint-Jean 20th-century Italian sportsmen