Patrick Ortlieb (born 20 May 1967) is a former

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 concept i ...

alpine ski racer and

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 b ...

gold medalist from Austria. A specialist in the speed events, he was also a

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

event. Born in

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

, Ortlieb started skiing early at the age of three. He won the downhill event at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

in France, gathered twenty World Cup podiums (sixty top tens), and was

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1996 in downhill. At the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

in Lillehammer, he finished fourth in the

Kvitfjell Kvitfjell ( no, White mountain) is a ski resort in Norway, located in the municipality of Ringebu. Developed for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world, with snowmaking on 80% of the alpine pist ...

. A month earlier, he won the famed downhill on the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria. Five years later in January

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, Ortlieb's racing career ended at age 31 after a serious crash during a practice run on the same slope at Kitzbühel. He suffered a compound fracture of the right femur and a badly dislocated and slightly fractured right hip after losing control and crashing into the safety nets at the Hausbergkante (mountain house corner). Later in the year, he was elected to the

National Council of Austria The National Council (german: Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsi ...

for the

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aus ...

, where he stayed for three years. He currently runs a four-star hotel, named Hotel Montana, in

Lech am Arlberg Lech am Arlberg is a mountain village and an exclusive ski resort in the Bludenz district in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, on the banks of the river Lech. In terms of both geography and history, Lech belongs to the Tannberg dis ...

. He is the father of fellow alpine skier Nina Ortlieb.

World Cup results

Race podiums

* 4 wins – (3 DH, 1 SG) * 20 podiums – (18 DH, 2 SG)

Season standings

World Championship results

* The Super-G in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

was cancelled after multiple weather delays.

Olympic results

References

External links

*
Patrick Ortlieb
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation *

– Oberlech, Austria – Ortlieb family
YouTube.com
– video – 1996 World Championships – Sierra Nevada, Spain – men's downhill – medalists' runs – 1996-02-17 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortlieb, Patrick 1967 births Living people People from Bregenz Austrian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Austria Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Austria Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Austrian racing drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers Austrian sportsperson-politicians Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics 24 Hours of Spa drivers Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Sportspeople from Vorarlberg Freedom Party of Austria politicians