Vreni Schneider

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".

Vreni Schneider

Alpine skier
Disciplines	Alpine skiing
Club	SC Elm
Born	26 November 1964 (1964-11-26) (age 55) Elm, Switzerland
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing   Switzerland Olympic Games 1994 Lillehammer Slalom 1988 Calgary Slalom 1988 Calgary Giant slalom 1994 Lillehammer Combined 1994 Lillehammer Giant slalom Alpine World Ski Championships 1987 Crans Montana Giant slalom 1989 Vail Giant slalom 1991 Saalbach Slalom 1989 Vail Slalom 1989 Vail Combined 1991 Saalbach Combined

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.[1]

Racing career

Schneider made her World Cup debut at the age of 20.[1] 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).[2]

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 competition victories

Seasons Season Discipline 1986 Giant Slalom 1987 Giant Slalom 1989 Overall 1989 Giant Slalom 1989 Slalom 1990 Slalom 1991 Giant Slalom 1992 Slalom 1993 Slalom 1994 Overall 1994 Slalom 1995 Overall 1995 Giant Slalom 1995 Slalom

Individual races Vreni Schneider won a total of 55 World Cup races: 20 Giant Slalom, 34 Slalom and one Combined. Slalom Date Location 17 December 1986 Courmayeur 14 February 1987 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains 24 January 1988 Bad Gastein 16 December 1988 Altenmarkt im Pongau 20 December 1988 Courmayeur 3 January 1989 Maribor 8 January 1989 Mellau 15 January 1989 Grindelwald 3 March 1989 Furano 10 March 1989 Shigakogen 25 November 1989 Park City 6 January 1990 Piancavallo 9 January 1990 Hinterstoder 21 January 1990 Maribor 18 March 1990 Åre 11 March 1991 Lake Louise 30 November 1991 Lech am Arlberg 18 January 1992 Maribor 29 February 1992 Narvik 6 January 1993 Maribor 17 January 1993 Cortina d'Ampezzo 19 March 1993 Vemdalen 28 March 1993 Åre 28 November 1993 Santa Caterina 19 December 1993 St. Anton am Arlberg 9 January 1994 Altenmarkt im Pongau 23 January 1994 Maribor 5 February 1994 Sierra Nevada 10 March 1994 Mammoth Mountain 20 March 1994 Vail 27 November 1994 Park City 18 December 1994 Sestriere 26 February 1995 Maribor 19 March 1995 Bormio Giant Slalom Date Location 17 December 1984 Santa Caterina 17 March 1985 Waterville Valley 6 January 1986 Maribor 19 January 1986 Oberstaufen 20 March 1986 Waterville Valley 6 December 1986 Waterville Valley 5 January 1987 Saalbach-Hinterglemm 13 February 1987 Megève 22 March 1987 Sarajevo 5 January 1988 Tignes 28 November 1988 Les Menuires 18 December 1988 Val di Zoldo 6 January 1989 Schwarzenberg 7 January 1989 Schwarzenberg 21 January 1989 Tignes 8 March 1989 Shigakogen 11 January 1991 Kranjska Gora 17 March 1991 Vail 8 December 1991 Santa Caterina 5 January 1992 Oberstaufen Combined Date Race 16 December 1988 Altenmarkt im Pongau

References

1. Johnson, William Oscar (27 January 1988). "Smooth as Clockwork". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vreni Schneider". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.

External links

• Website of Vreni Schneider's ski school (in German)
• International Olympic Committee profile
• International Olympic Committee story
• Vreni Schneider at the International Olympic Committee
• Vreni Schneider at the International Ski Federation
• Vreni Schneider at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database

Awards
Preceded by Maria Walliser	Swiss Sportswoman of the Year 1988–1989	Succeeded by Anita Protti
Preceded by Anita Protti	Swiss Sportswoman of the Year 1991	Succeeded by Conny Kissling
Preceded by Manuela Maleeva	Swiss Sportswoman of the Year 1994–1995	Succeeded by Barbara Heeb