Pirmin Zurbriggen

Pirmin Zurbriggen (born 4 February 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. One of the most successful ski racers ever, he won the overall World Cup title four times, an Olympic gold medal in 1988 in Downhill, and nine World Championships medals (4 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze).

Biography Zurbriggen was born in Saas-Almagell in the canton of Valais, the son of Alois, an innkeeper, and Ida. His father competed as a ski racer in local competitions in the 1940s and 1950s, but quit the sport after his brother was killed in a training accident. Zurbriggen made his World Cup debut in January 1981, a month before his 18th birthday. With his victory in the downhill at Kitzbühel in January 1985 at age 21, he became the first to win World Cup races in all five disciplines. (The fifth discipline, super-G, was added in December 1982.) Incidentally Marc Girardelli, the second to enter this exclusive circle, won his first downhill race four years later at the same venue.

Zurbriggen retired from international competition after having won the 1990 World Cup overall title – his fourth, which was then the most overall titles won by a single racer, reached only once before by Gustav Thöni in 1975. Again it was Marc Girardelli who followed him in 1991 with a fourth overall title, and Girardelli added another in 1993 to become the first male racer with five overall titles in World Cup history.

Zurbriggen grew up in the remote village of Saas-Almagell, near Saas-Fee. With a total of 40 World Cup victories over nine years and five gold medals, he belongs to the "All-Time Greats" of alpine skiing, ranking fifth in all-time wins and having 169 Top Ten finishes.

Zurbriggen left the World Cup tour as a hero to start a family; he was married the previous summer (30 June 1989) to Monika Julen (the sister of his best friend on the Swiss ski team, Max Julen), with whom he has five children: Elia, Pirmin Jr., Maria, Alain and Leonie, who have all competed in ski racing. He is the older brother of Heidi Zurbriggen, a winner of three World Cup downhill races, and a distant cousin of Silvan Zurbriggen.

Zurbriggen now runs the Wellness Hotel Pirmin Zurbriggen with his parents in Saas-Almagell and another hotel, Apparthotel Zurbriggen, in Zermatt. In addition, after his World Cup career had ended he partnered with Authier Ski company on a line of signature skis.

World Cup results

Season standings

Season titles

11 titles (4 overall, 2 DH, 4 SG, 1 GS) plus unofficial 3 K

Race victories 40 wins (10 DH, 10 SG, 7 GS, 11 SC, 2 SL) 83 podiums (40 wins, 26 second place, 17 third place)

Downhill DateLocation 11-Jan-1985 Kitzbühel 12-Jan-1985 Kitzbühel 16-Aug-1986 Las Leñas 05-Dec-1986 Val d'Isère 10-Jan-1987 Garmisch 25-Jan-1987 Kitzbühel 07-Mar-1987 Aspen, CO 09-Jan-1988 Val d'Isère 29-Jan-1988 Schladming 06-Dec-1989 Val Gardena

Giant slalom Date Location 24-Mar-1982 San Sicario 11-Jan-1983 Adelboden 05-Mar-1984 Aspen, CO 13-Jan-1987 Adelboden 20-Jan-1987 Adelboden 15-Feb-1987 Todtnau 29-Nov-1988 Val Thorens

Slalom Date Location 10-Dec-1984 Sestriere 23-Feb-1986 ÅreSuper-G Date Location 19-Dec-1983 Val Gardena 20-Mar-1984 Oppdal 07-Dec-1984 Puy-Saint-Vincent 17-Mar-1985 Panorama, BC 28-Feb-1986 Hemsedal 08-Mar-1987 Aspen, CO 27-Nov-1988 Schladming 12-Dec-1989 Sestriere 06-Feb-1990 Courmayeur 10-Mar-1990 Hemsedal

Combined Date Location 24-Jan-1982 Wengen 22-Dec-1982 Campiglio 29-Jan-1984 Garmisch 11-Jan-1985 Kitzbühel 19-Jan-1986 Kitzbühel 23-Feb-1986 Åre 18-Jan-1987 Wengen 25-Jan-1987 Kitzbühel 22-Dec-1988 St. Anton 12-Jan-1990 Schladming 21-Jan-1990 Kitzbühel

World championship results Year Age Slalom Giant slalom Super-G Downhill Combined 1985 22 DNF 2 1 1 1987 24 DNF 1 1 2 2 1989 26 DNF 3 2 15 4

Year Age Slalom Giant slalom Super-G Downhill Combined 1984 21 DNF1 DNF1 4 1988 25 7 3 5 1 DNF SL2