Alexis Pinturault () (born 20 March 1991 in

Moûtiers Moûtiers (; Arpitan: ''Motiérs''), historically also called Tarentaise, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. Moûtiers is the main access point to the Les Trois Vallées ski regio ...

) is a French

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 and

Olympic medalist This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

. With 34 World Cup victories, Pinturault is the most successful French skier in World Cup history. He represented France at seven

World Championships 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 ...

and three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, with four bronze medals in the giant slalom. He was the overall World Cup champion in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Pinturault is double combined world champion in 2019 and 2023, the world champion in the team event in 2017, and a two-time world junior champion in giant slalom in 2009 and 2011.

Early years

Born in

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

, Pinturault grew up in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

. His mother, Hege Wiig Pinturault, is from

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and he spent many of his childhood summers in Norway at Hestnesøy, near

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

. He has

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

Ski racing career

A week before his 18th birthday, Pinturault made his World Cup debut in March

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Åre Åre () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpe ...

, Sweden. His first podium came two years later in March

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, a runner-up finish in giant slalom in

Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora (; ) is a town in northwestern Slovenia, on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region, close to the Austrian and Italy, Italian borders. It is the seat of the Municipality of Kranjska Gora. The tripoint between Austria, It ...

, Slovenia. That fall, he was also a runner-up at

Sölden Sölden () is a municipality in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria. Geography At c. , it is the largest municipality in the country. The population of 3,449 (as of 2003) is outnumbered by tourists, of which 15,000 can be accommodated. Wit ...

in October

and gained his first World Cup victory in February 2012, in the parallel slalom in Moscow, Russia.

2013 season

Pinturault was unable to make the season start in Sölden in October

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, as he injured his ankle while playing tennis and had to pause for three months. In December, he won his second World Cup race in slalom at

Val-d'Isère Val-d'Isère (, literally ''Valley of Isère (river), Isère'') is a Communes of France, commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie Departments of France, department (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region) in southeastern France. It ...

, where he thrilled the home fans with a brilliant second run under the floodlights to rise from sixth place. He convincingly beat Germany's

Felix Neureuther Felix Neureuther (; born 26 March 1984) is a German retired FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer and former FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005, World champion. Early life Born in Munich-Pasing, Neureuther is ...

by half a second and future World Cup champion

Marcel Hirscher Marcel Hirscher (born 2 March 1989) is an Austrian-Dutch FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. He competed primarily in slalom and giant slalom, as well as combined ...

, who led by 0.57 seconds after the first run. Pinturault's third win was at the super-combined in

Wengen Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells t ...

, Switzerland, where his superior slalom skills were key. After placing 22nd in the downhill portion, he finished 1.15 seconds ahead of

Ivica Kostelić Ivica Kostelić (; born 23 November 1979) is a Croatian former alpine ski racer. He specialized in slalom and combined, but was also one of the few alpine World Cup ski racers able to score points in all disciplines. He is the brother of skiin ...

of Croatia. The training run for the downhill portion was his first time on downhill skis for months, as he missed pre-season speed training after surgery on his left ankle in August to repair ligaments damaged while playing tennis. Pinturault did not medal at the world championships in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

but had four top-six finishes. A week later, he claimed a fourth World Cup win, his first in giant slalom, at

Garmisch Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the Oberbayern region, which borders Austria. Nearby is Ger ...

, Germany. Being second after the first run, Pinturault's total time was 0.60 seconds ahead of runner-up Hirscher. On 15 March, he was honored as the 2013

Longines Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines (), is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Agassiz family, Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss The Swatch G ...

Rising Star, as the top young racer (under 23) of the season. Pinturault changed equipment after the 2014 season, from Salomon to

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

. Before the 2023–24 season, Pinturault announced he will not compete in slalom anymore, giving focus to the speed disciplines.

World Cup results

Season titles

* 6 titles – (1 overall, 1

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

, 4 Combined) : : :

Season standings

Race victories

Podiums

Including both parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom. Two parallel events have been classified in the sk-db.com results as classic events (the City Event slalom on 23/02/16 and the parallel GS on 18/12/17). They are shown here as parallel events.

World Championship results

Olympic results

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinturault, Alexis 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Moûtiers Skiers from Savoie French male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for France Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France French people of Norwegian descent Norwegian people of French descent Université Savoie Mont Blanc alumni 21st-century French sportsmen