Marie-Theres Nadig (born 8 March 1954) is a retired

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

alpine skier 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 for ...

Biography

Aged 17, she won gold medals in the downhill and

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up th ...

events at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...

. During her career, Nadig won 24 world cup races and had 57 podium finishes. At the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

, she was third in the downhill event. After retiring from competitions, between 1999 and 2005 she worked as a national coach.

Career

Nadig won her first major competition in 1970, the giant slalom at the Swiss Junior Championships. She finished sixth in the downhill at the world cup in 1971, and second in 1972. The same year, she won two Olympic gold medals, beating the favorite

Annemarie Moser-Pröll Annemarie Moser-Pröll (born 27 March 1953) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Born in Kleinarl, Salzburg, she was the most successful female alpine ski racer during the 1970s, with six overall titles, including five consecut ...

and becoming the Swiss Sportswoman of the Year. She also took part in the slalom, but failed to finish. After a few unsuccessful years, Nadig won two downhill events at the 1975 World Cup season. She competed in the slalom and giant slalom at the 1976 Olympics, but failed to achieve a podium. She recovered in 1977 by winning the downhill and the combined world cup events, and had a brilliant 1979–1980 season, finishing on the podium in all 14 world cup events, and winning 9 of them. However, at the 1980 Olympics, she earned only a bronze in the downhill and failed to finish the slalom and giant slalom.

Retirement from skiing

Nadig retired in 1981 with a world cup tally of 24 wins and 57 podium finishes. She ran a sports store in Switzerland and later a hotel and as a ski school. Between 1999 and 2005 she worked with the Swiss national teams. The 2004/05 season was the worst ever for the Swiss women ski racers since the introduction of the World Cup. After the team failed to win a medal at the 2005 World Championships, Nadig was let go in March 2005. She finally ended her coaching career in October 2005.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nadig, Marie-Theres 1954 births Living people Swiss female alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Switzerland Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Olympic bronze medalists for Switzerland Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions 20th-century Swiss women