Didier Défago

Didier Défago
— Alpine skier —

Défago in December 2006
Disciplines Downhill, Super G
Giant slalom, Combined
Born (1977-10-02) 2 October 1977
Morgins, Valais, Switzerland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
World Cup debut 7 March 1996 (age 18)
Retired 18 March 2015 (age 37)
Website didierdefago.ch
Olympics
Teams 4 – (2002–2014)
Medals 1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams 7 – (2001–09, '13–15)
Medals 0
World Cup
Wins 5 – (3 DH, 2 SG)
Podiums 16
Overall titles 0 – (6th in 2005, 2009)
Discipline titles 0 – (3rd in DH, SG; 2009)
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Competitor for   Switzerland
Olympic Games
2010 Vancouver Downhill

Didier Défago (born 2 October 1977) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland.

Born in Morgins, Valais, Défago made his World Cup debut at age 18 in March 1996, and was Swiss national champion in downhill (2003) and Giant slalom (2004). At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he won the downhill at Whistler to become the Olympic champion.[1]

Didier Défago winning gold
at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Défago finished the 2005 World Cup season as sixth overall and fourth in the Super-G, his most successful season so far. In 2009 he won two downhill races in a row, the classics at Wengen and Kitzbühel.[2] He was the first to win these in consecutive weeks since Stephan Eberharter in 2002, and the first Swiss racer since Franz Heinzer in 1992.

While training on a glacier above Zermatt in mid-September 2010, Defago fell and injured ligaments in his left knee, ending his 2011 season.[3]

Défago announced his retirement on March 18, 2015, after a second-place finish at the World Cup finals in the downhill in Méribel, France. Défago had his final World Cup race the next day in the super-G.[4]

World Cup results

Season standings

Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
slalom 		Super-G Downhill Combined
1996 18 126 — — 38 — —
1997 19 injured
1998 20 138 — 54 — — —
1999 21 93 — — 29 — —
2000 22 27 — 15 16 39 —
2001 23 24 — 23 13 17 —
2002 24 14 — 13 7 34 7
2003 25 11 53 11 7 18 7
2004 26 32 — 31 26 21 13
2005 27 6 — 14 4 15 3
2006 28 15 52 21 22 9 9
2007 29 14 61 9 14 21 15
2008 30 9 — 18 4 9 21
2009 31 6 — 20 3 3 20
2010 32 12 — 28 12 8 8
2011 33 injured
2012 34 18 — 17 19 13 23
2013 35 30 — 19 26 29 —
2014 36 19 — 36 6 16 —
2015 37 18 — — 7 13 —

Race podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
200203 Mar 2002 Kvitfjell, Norway Super-G 2nd
200320 Dec 2002 Val Gardena, Italy Super-G 1st
26 Jan 2003 Kitzbühel, Austria Combined 3rd
200514 Jan 2005 Wengen, Switzerland Combined 3rd
20 Feb 2005 Garmisch, Germany Super-G 2nd
06 Mar 2005 Kvitfjell, Norway Super-G 2nd
200717 Dec 2006 Alta Badia, Italy Giant Slalom 3rd
200813 Mar 2008 Bormio, Italy Super-G 2nd
200919 Dec 2008 Val Gardena, Italy Super-G 2nd
17 Jan 2009 Wengen, Switzerland Downhill 1st
24 Jan 2009 Kitzbühel, Austria Downhill 1st
2010 04 Dec 2009 Beaver Creek, USA Super Combined 2nd
29 Dec 2009 Bormio, Italy Downhill 2nd
201229 Dec 2011 Bormio, Italy Downhill 1st
201426 Jan 2014 Kitzbühel, Austria Super-G 1st
201518 Mar 2015 Méribel, France Downhill 2nd

World Championship results

  Year    Age   Slalom   Giant 
 slalom  		Super-G Downhill Combined
2001 23 — — 11 — —
2003 25 — 22 21 — 7
2005 27 — 12 7 6 14
2007 29 — 13 17 10 4
2009 31 — 20 8 DNF —
2011 33 injured
2013 35 — DNF2 26 8 —
2015 37 — — 7 11 —

Olympic results

  Year    Age   Slalom  Giant
 slalom  		Super-G Downhill Combined
2002 24 — 14 6 21 DNF2
2006 28 — 14 16 26 DNF2
2010 32 — — 15 1 DNF2
2014 36 — DNF1 DNF 14 —

References

  1. ↑ "Didier Defago lands downhill gold to end Swiss misery". Daily Mail. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Defago wins World Cup downhill on Streif". USA Today. Associated Press. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Ski Racing.com – 15 September 2010
  4. ↑ - 18 March 2015

External links

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