Itamar Biran (; born 3 March 1998) is an Israeli Olympic

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 ...

who represents Israel in international competitions. He competes in

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 ...

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

, slalom and Combined.

Biography

Itamar Biran is a dual U.K./Israel citizen, and is Jewish.Alpine skiing , Athlete Profile: Itamar BIRAN - Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games
/ref> When Biran was six years old, his family moved to

Verbier, Switzerland Verbier () is a village located in south-western Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is a holiday resort and ski area in the Swiss Alps and is recognised as one of the premier off-piste resorts in the world. Some areas are covered with snow ...

. They then moved to Israel, and subsequently he attended

University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...

in London in the United Kingdom.Attain News , Attain Magazine , Former UCS Pupil Bids For Gold In Winter Olympics
/ref> He now lives and trains in

Les Houches Les Houches (; Arpitan: ''Les Ouches'' or ''Les Oucies'') is an alpine commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located just west of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, in the larger canton of ...

, France, and in Switzerland. He is studying in

Bocconi University Bocconi University or Università Bocconi (formally known in Italian language, Italian as ''Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi'' – Luigi Bocconi Commercial University) is a private university in Milan, Italy. The university is consistently ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, He said "I started skiing like all Israelis do: At Club Meds in Europe." Biran started to ski at age three, and to compete at age 12. His ski club is the Israel Ski Club, and his coach is Didier Schmidt.BIRAN Itamar – Biographie
/ref>

Skiing career

Biran competed on behalf of Israel at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in

Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, and came in 23rd in the Alpine Combined, and 38th in the

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

. In January 2017 he won the Italian National Junior Slalom Race, in

Valtournenche Valtournenche (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy, above the sea level. It is named after and covers the upper side of the ''Valtournenche'', a valley on the left side of the Dora Baltea, ...

. In February 2017 he came in second in the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Championships in slalom, and third in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Junior National Championships in slalom. In March 2017, he came in second in the CIT Giant slalom in Villard de Lans, France. In November 2017 he won the CIT Slalom in

Val Thorens Val Thorens () is a ski town in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps at an altitude of . It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie department. The resort forms part of the Les Trois Vallées ski area which, ...

, France. Biran competed at the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek, USA, and qualified for the final race in the

in which he finished 62nd. He also competed in the men's slalom final, but did not finish the first run. He was the only male Israeli athlete and the youngest participant at these championships. He was among two participants who represented Israel at the

2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics (; ), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016. They were the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the second winter edition. Lilleha ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

. He represented

Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics Israel competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with ten competitors in four sports. Competitors The following is a list of the number of Israeli competitors participating at the Games per sp ...

, having raced in the slalom on 18 February and in the giant slalom on 22 February. His best result at a major international event came at the

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2019 The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2019 were held from 4 to 17 February 2019 in Åre, Sweden. The host city was selected at the FIS Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on 5 June 2014. The only other applicant was Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, which ...

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 ...

where he finished 39th in the Slalom. Biran is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds.BIRAN Itamar , Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biran, Itamar 1998 births Skiers from London Israeli male alpine skiers Living people Alpine skiers at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Israel Jewish Israeli sportspeople Jewish British sportspeople People educated at University College School 21st-century Israeli sportsmen