Charles Bozon

Charles Bozon Jr. (15 December 1932 – 7 July 1964) was an alpine ski racer and world champion from France.[1]

Charles Bozon
Alpine skier
DisciplinesDownhill, Giant Slalom
Slalom, Combined
ClubChamonix
Born(1932-12-15)15 December 1932
Chamonix, Haute-Savoie,
France
Died7 July 1964(1964-07-07) (aged 31)
Aiguille Verte, Haute-Savoie, France
Olympics
Teams2 – (1956, 1960)
Medals1 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams4 – (1956, 1958, 1960, 1962)
      includes Olympics
Medals4 (1 gold)
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing  France
Olympic Games
1960 Squaw Valley Slalom
World Championships
1962 Chamonix Slalom
1960 Squaw Valley Combined
1956 Cortina Combined

Born in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, Bozon won a gold medal in the slalom at the 1962 World Championships, held at his hometown of Chamonix in a snowstorm.[2] Earlier, he had won a bronze medal in the slalom at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California,[3] and two world championship silver medals in the combined in 1956 and 1960. Bozon suffered fractured vertebra in the giant slalom at the world championships in 1958 and vowed not to compete again.[4] He did not compete in the Olympics in 1964.[5]

Bozon died in 1964 at age 31 in a mountain climbing accident near Mont Blanc. He and 13 climbing companions were killed in an avalanche on the Aiguille Verte, a 13,524-foot (4,122 m) mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.[6] The climbing party had reached an elevation of about 9,000 feet (2,740 m) when the avalanche occurred.[5] Bozon's father, Charles, Sr., had died on the same slope in an avalanche in 1938.[7]

Less than three months earlier, an avalanche in Switzerland claimed the lives of two noted alpine racers, Buddy Werner of the U.S. and Barbi Henneberger of West Germany.[8]

References
  1. Bennett, Bill (January 22, 1963). "Frenchman Charles Bozon dedicated ski specialist". Montreal Gazette. p. 23.
  2. "Speedy French star wins world slalom". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. February 14, 1962. p. 14.
  3. "1960 Winter Olympics – Squaw Valley, United States – Alpine Skiing" Archived 2007-08-19 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved on February 28, 2008)
  4. "U.S. ski hopes are disqualified". St. Petersburg Times. February 14, 1962. p. 3-C.
  5. "Alpine avalanche kills 14 climbers". Tuscaloosa (AL) News. Associated Press. July 7, 1964. p. 1.
  6. "Snow slide in Alps kills 14 climbers". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. July 8, 1964. p. 1.
  7. "Avalanche kills French ski champ, Charles Bozon". Eugene Register-Guard. UPI. July 8, 1964. p. 9.
  8. "Ski star killed racing avalanche". Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. April 13, 1964. p. 1.


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