Going down to victory. The Ski World Cup greatest Quiz

Answer: Jean-Claude Killy

This French great managed to win besides the overall Cup, also the Slalom, Giant Slalom and Dowhill Cups in 1967. He raced in only two editions of the Cup, winning both with 18 overall wins.
In 1968 he won three Gold Medals at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble.

Answer: Karl Schranz

One of the most outstanding skiers of the '60s, Austrian Schranz raced for 6 seasons, winning 12 races. He was also gold medalist at the 1962 World Championships in Chamonix, winning the Downhill race and the Combined, and in 1970 in Val Gardena, winning the Giant Slalom race.

Answer: Gustav Thoeni

Called "Gustavo" by Italian fans, Thoeni was born in Trafoi, Italy, in South Tyrol, and German was his first language. Leader of the so-called Valanga Azzurra (Blue Avalanche), the successful Italian team of the 70s, he managed to win 24 races in 11 edition of the Cup, plus one gold Olympic medal and 5 gold World Championship medals.

But maybe his most outstanding race was the one in which he (normally very competitive in slaloms) lost to the great Franz Klammer for one-hundredth of a second, in 1975 one the famous Streif course in Kitzbühel. Just after the race, Gustav said he was glad of the result. After some years, he declared instead he still felt sorry about it.

Answer: Ingemar Stenmark

When he retired, he held the record for most wins: 86 in 16 seasons. Ingemar was probably the dullest guest in interviews, but a real wizard on the track. He managed to win 3 Cups competing only in slalom and giant slalom. He won also two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship medals.

Answer: Phil Mahre

Phil dominated the scene with his brother Steve in the early '80s. He is considered the greatest American skier of all times. His won 27 World Cup races in 9 seasons, and was gold medalist in 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo (slalom). He won also a Gold Medal for combined in 1980 World Championships in Lake Placid.

Answer: Pirmin Zurbriggen

Hailing from Switzerland, Primin was one of the greatest: 40 World Cup victories, 4 gold medals in the World Championships, one Gold medals at the Olympics. He managed to win in all races: slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill.

Answer: Marc Girardelli

Incredible Marc Girardelli. Italian name, Austrian citizenship, he decided to run for Luxemburg because the Austrian team was too crowded. A very low-profile guy, while other flamboyant champs traveled with a big retinue, he toured the World Cup circus with his car and his father as a skiman.

He won 46 Wolrd Cup races in all specialties and 4 gold medals in the World Championships. He never managed to win a gold in the Olympics: he got two silver medals in Albertville, 1982.

Answer: Hermann Maier

Maier, from Austria, could have been an even greatest winner, but he had to recover from a very serious motorbike accident in 2001 (and avoided having one leg amputated). Despite this, he managed to win 54 World Cup races (being successful before and after the accident), two gold medals at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, and 3 gold World Championships medals.

Answer: Bode Miller

After having honed his skills in New Hampshire, Bode managed to win 33 times in the World Cup, being very competitive in all disciplines. He also won an Olympic gold medal (Vancouver 2010) and 4 gold World Championships medals.

Answer: Marcel Hirscher

Marcel is a monster: he managed to win 8 consecutive World Cup overall titles. Beside that, he won two Olympic gold medals, 7 World Championships gold medals and had 68 overall wins.