Vreni Schneider
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox alpine ski racer
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Verena "Vreni" Schneider (born 26 November 1964) is a retired ski racer from Switzerland. She is the most successful alpine ski racer of her country, the fourth most successful female ski racer ever (after Lindsey Vonn, Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mikaela Shiffrin) and was voted "Swiss Sportswoman of the Century".
Early life
Schneider was born in Elm, the daughter of a shoemaker. Her mother died of cancer when Schneider was a teenager: as a result she put her ski career on hold and dropped out of school to look after the family home.<ref name="si">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Racing career
Schneider made her World Cup debut at the age of 20.<ref name=si /> Schneider won the overall alpine skiing World Cup three times and eleven discipline World Cups in Slalom and Giant slalom, along with 55 World Cup races (number four all-time among women to Moser-Pröll, Vonn and Shiffrin). She also won five medals at the Winter Olympics including 3 golds (Slalom and giant slalom at Calgary in 1988 and Slalom at Lillehammer in 1994), and six medals at the World Championships including 3 more golds (Giant slalom at Crans-Montana in 1987 and Vail in 1989; Slalom at Saalbach in 1991).<ref>Template:Cite Sports-Reference</ref>
During the 1988–89 season she won 14 World Cup races, a record for single season wins that stood until Shiffrin beat that record in the 2018–19 season.
In April 1995, after eleven successful seasons, she announced her retirement. Today she runs a ski and snowboard school in her home village of Elm as well as a sport equipment shop in Glarus.
Vreni Schneider is praised in the Half Man Half Biscuit song 'Uffington Wassail' thus: "Vreni Schneider – you’re my downhill lady! Vreni Schneider – you’re the queen of the slopes!" The song is on the album Trouble Over Bridgwater from the year 2000.
World Cup results
Season titles
- 14 titles – (3 overall, 6 Slalom, 5 Giant slalom)
Season standings
| Season | |||||||
| Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Template:Nowrap | Downhill | Combined | |
| 1985 | 20 | 9 | 22 | 3 | — | — | 17 |
| 1986 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 14 | — | 5 |
| 1987 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 1988 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 22 | — | 5 |
| 1989 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | — | 3 |
| 1990 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 25 | — | — |
| 1991 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 5 |
| 1995 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 23 | 2 |
Race victories
| Total | Slalom | Giant slalom | Downhill | Super-G | Combined | Parallel | |
| Wins | 55 | 34 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Podiums | 101 | 47 | 46 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Season | |||
| Date | Location | Discipline | |
| 1985 2 victories (2 GS) |
17 December 1984 | Template:Flagicon Santa Caterina, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 17 March 1985 | Template:Flagicon Waterville Valley, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 1986 3 victories (3 GS) |
6 January 1986 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Yugoslavia | Giant slalom |
| 19 January 1986 | Template:Flagicon Oberstaufen, Germany | Giant slalom | |
| 20 March 1986 | Template:Flagicon Waterville Valley, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 1987 6 victories (2 SL, 4 GS) |
6 December 1986 | Giant slalom | |
| 17 December 1986 | Template:Flagicon Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom | |
| 5 January 1987 | Template:Flagicon Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 13 February 1987 | Template:Flagicon Megève, France | Giant slalom | |
| 14 February 1987 | Template:Flagicon Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France | Slalom | |
| 22 March 1987 | Template:Flagicon Sarajevo, Yugoslavia | Giant slalom | |
| 1988 2 victories (1 SL, 1 GS) |
5 January 1988 | Template:Flagicon Tignes, France | Giant slalom |
| 24 January 1988 | Template:Flagicon Bad Gastein, Austria | Slalom | |
| 1989 14 victories (7 SL, 6 GS, 1 AC) |
28 November 1988 | Template:Flagicon Les Menuires, France | Giant slalom |
| 16 December 1988 | Template:Flagicon Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria | Slalom | |
| Combined | |||
| 18 December 1988 | Template:Flagicon Val Zoldana, Italy | Giant slalom | |
| 20 December 1988 | Template:Flagicon Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom | |
| 3 January 1989 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Yugoslavia | Slalom | |
| 6 January 1989 | Template:Flagicon Schwarzenberg, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 7 January 1989 | Giant slalom | ||
| 8 January 1989 | Template:Flagicon Mellau, Austria | Slalom | |
| 15 January 1989 | Template:Flagicon Grindelwald, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 21 January 1989 | Template:Flagicon Tignes, France | Giant slalom | |
| 3 March 1989 | Template:Flagicon Furano, Japan | Slalom | |
| 8 March 1989 | Template:Flagicon Shigakogen, Japan | Giant slalom | |
| 10 March 1989 | Slalom | ||
| 1990 5 victories (5 SL) |
25 November 1989 | Template:Flagicon Park City, USA | Slalom |
| 6 January 1990 | Template:Flagicon Piancavallo, Italy | Slalom | |
| 9 January 1990 | Template:Flagicon Hinterstoder, Austria | Slalom | |
| 21 January 1990 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Yugoslavia | Slalom | |
| 18 March 1990 | Template:Flagicon Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 1991 3 victories (1 SL, 2 GS) |
11 January 1991 | Template:Flagicon Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia | Giant slalom |
| 11 March 1991 | Template:Flagicon Lake Louise, Canada | Slalom | |
| 17 March 1991 | Template:Flagicon Vail, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 1992 5 victories (3 SL, 2 GS) |
30 November 1991 | Template:Flagicon Lech, Austria | Slalom |
| 8 December 1991 | Template:Flagicon Santa Caterina, Italy | Giant slalom | |
| 5 January 1992 | Template:Flagicon Oberstaufen, Germany | Giant slalom | |
| 18 January 1992 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 29 February 1992 | Template:Flagicon Narvik, Norway | Slalom | |
| 1993 4 victories (4 SL) |
6 January 1993 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom |
| 17 January 1993 | Template:Flagicon Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Slalom | |
| 19 March 1993 | Template:Flagicon Vemdalen, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 28 March 1993 | Template:Flagicon Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 1994 7 victories (7 SL) |
28 November 1993 | Template:Flagicon Santa Caterina, Italy | Slalom |
| 19 December 1993 | Template:Flagicon St. Anton, Austria | Slalom | |
| 9 January 1994 | Template:Flagicon Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria | Slalom | |
| 23 January 1994 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 5 February 1994 | Template:Flagicon Sierra Nevada, Spain | Slalom | |
| 10 March 1994 | Template:Flagicon Mammoth Mountain, USA | Slalom | |
| 20 March 1994 | Template:Flagicon Vail, USA | Slalom | |
| 1995 4 victories (4 SL) |
27 November 1994 | Template:Flagicon Park City, USA | Slalom |
| 18 December 1994 | Template:Flagicon Sestriere, Italy | Slalom | |
| 26 February 1995 | Template:Flagicon Maribor, Slovenia | Slalom | |
| 19 March 1995 | Template:Flagicon Bormio, Italy | Slalom |
World Championship results
| Year | |||||||
| Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Template:Nowrap | Downhill | Combined | Team Event | |
| 1985 | 20 | — | 12 | Template:N/a | — | — | Template:N/a |
| 1987 | 22 | — | 1 | 4 | — | 4 | Template:N/a |
| 1989 | 24 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2 | Template:N/a |
| 1991 | 26 | 1 | 7 | — | — | 3 | Template:N/a |
Olympic results
| Year | |||||||
| Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Template:Nowrap | Downhill | Combined | Team Event | |
| 1988 | 23 | 1 | 1 | — | — | DNF2 | Template:N/a |
| 1992 | 27 | 7 | DNF1 | — | — | — | Template:N/a |
| 1994 | 29 | 1 | 3 | — | 33 | 2 | Template:N/a |
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1964 births
- Living people
- Swiss female alpine skiers
- Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland
- Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland
- Olympic bronze medalists for Switzerland
- Olympic alpine skiers for Switzerland
- Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
- FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions
- Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Sportspeople from the canton of Glarus
- 20th-century Swiss sportswomen