Patrick Ortlieb

Patrick Ortlieb (born 20 May 1967) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Austria.[1][2] A specialist in the speed events, he was also a world champion in the downhill event.[3]

Patrick Ortlieb

Alpine skier
Ortlieb in 2010
Disciplines	Downhill, Super-G, Combined
Born	(1967-05-20) 20 May 1967 Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
World Cup debut	9 December 1988 (age 21)
Retired	January 1999 (age 31)
Olympics
Teams	2 – (1992, 1994)
Medals	1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams	4 – (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997)
Medals	1 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	11 – (1989–99)
Wins	4 – (3 DH, 1 SG)
Podiums	20 – (18 DH, 2 SG)
Overall titles	0 – (7th in 1993)
Discipline titles	0 – (3rd in DH, 1994–96)
Medal record Men's alpine skiing Representing  Austria Olympic Games 1992 Albertville Downhill World Championships 1996 Sierra Nevada Downhill

Born in Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Ortlieb started skiing early at the age of three. He won the downhill event at the 1992 Winter Olympics in France, gathered twenty World Cup podiums (sixty top tens), and was World Champion in 1996 in downhill. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, he finished fourth in the downhill at Kvitfjell.[4][5][6][7] A month earlier, he won the famed downhill on the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria.[8]

Five years later in January 1999, Ortlieb's racing career ended at age 31 after a serious crash during a practice run on the same slope at Kitzbühel. He suffered a compound fracture of the right femur and a badly dislocated and slightly fractured right hip after losing control and crashing into the safety nets at the Hausbergkante (mountain house corner).[9] Later in the year, he was elected to the National Council of Austria for the Freedom Party of Austria, where he stayed for three years. He currently runs a four-star hotel, named Hotel Montana, in Lech am Arlberg in Vorarlberg.

World Cup results

Race podiums

• 4 wins – (3 DH, 1 SG)
• 20 podiums – (18 DH, 2 SG)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Place
1989	10 Dec 1988	Val Gardena, Italy	Downhill	2nd
1991	16 Mar 1991	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill	3rd
1992	11 Jan 1992	Garmisch, Germany	Downhill	2nd
	18 Jan 1992	Kitzbühel, Austria	Downhill	3rd
	14 Mar 1992	Aspen, USA	Downhill	3rd
1993	11 Dec 1992	Val Gardena, Italy	Downhill	3rd
	23 Jan 1993	Veysonnaz, Switzerland	Downhill	2nd
	28 Feb 1993	Whistler, Canada	Super-G	3rd
1994	18 Dec 1993	Val Gardena, Italy	Downhill	1st
	15 Jan 1994	Kitzbühel, Austria	Downhill	1st
	15 Mar 1994	Vail, USA	Downhill	3rd
1995	11 Dec 1994	Tignes, France	Super-G	1st
	17 Dec 1994	Val d'Isère, France	Downhill	2nd
	13 Jan 1995	Kitzbühel, Austria	Downhill	2nd
	25 Feb 1995	Whistler, Canada	Downhill	3rd
	11 Mar 1995	Kvitfjell, Norway	Downhill	3rd
1996	1 Dec 1995	Vail, USA	Downhill	3rd
	16 Dec 1995	Val Gardena, Italy	Downhill	1st
	20 Jan 1996	Veysonnaz, Switzerland	Downhill	2nd
1997	15 Dec 1996	Val d'Isère, France	Downhill	3rd

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1989	21	30	–	–	–	12	—
1990	22	43	–	–	–	17	14
1991	23	23	–	–	26	6	—
1992	24	10	–	–	18	4	18
1993	25	7	–	–	7	7	6
1994	26	12	–	–	21	3	—
1995	27	11	–	–	9	3	—
1996	28	20	–	–	27	3	—
1997	29	33	–	–	16	14	—
1998	30	62	–	–	32	27	—
1999	31	82	–	–	–	35	—

World Championship results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1991	23	—	—	—	7	—
1993	25	—	—	cancelled	8	—
1996	28	—	—	—	1	—
1997	29	—	—	—	8	—

• The Super-G in 1993 was cancelled after multiple weather delays.

Olympic results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1992	24	—	—	18	1	—
1994	26	—	—	—	4	—

References

1. "It's all downhill for Austria's alpine gold medalist". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 10 February 1992. p. 1D.
2. Johnson, William Oscar (17 February 1992). "La Face job". Sports Illustrated. p. 36.
3. New York Times – Skiing: Austrian captures downhill in a glide – 18 February 1996
4. Johnson, William Oscar (21 February 1994). "The Son finally rises". Sports Illustrated. (cover story). p. 20.
5. Powers, Tom (14 February 1994). "This Moe's no stooge on the slopes". Lewiston (ME) Sun-Journal. Knight-Ridder. p. 23.
6. Philips, Angus (14 February 1994). "Unheralded Tommy Moe races to first U.S. medal". Washington Post. p. A1.
7. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Patrick Ortlieb". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
8. "World Cup: Men's Downhill". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). 16 January 1994. p. 10E.
9. The Independent – Skiing: Ortlieb suffers horrific accident – 22 January 1999

External links

• Patrick Ortlieb at the International Ski Federation
• Patrick Ortlieb World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
• Patrick Ortlieb at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
• Hotel Montana – Oberlech, Austria – Ortlieb family
• YouTube.com – video – 1996 World Championships – Sierra Nevada, Spain – men's downhill – medalists' runs – 1996-02-17

Awards
Preceded by Stephan Eberharter	Austrian Sportsman of the year 1992	Succeeded by Andreas Goldberger