Cercedilla is a municipality

Municipalities of Spain

The municipalities of Spain In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. municipi.*Galician or , sing. municipio/bisbarra.*Basque , sing. udalerria. are the basic level of Spanish local government...

 of the Community of Madrid, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama

Sierra de Guadarrama

The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara...

.

It was the hometown of Francisco Fernández Ochoa (1950-2006), an alpine ski racer

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 known for being the first (& only) Spaniard to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. He won the slalom

Slalom skiing

Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...

 in 1972

Alpine skiing at the 1972 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1972 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Sapporo, Japan, from February 5–13, 1972. The downhills were held at Mount Eniwa, and the four technical events at Teine.-Downhill:February 7, 1972...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Less than two weeks before his death from cancer, a statue was erected in his honor in Cercedilla.
Many of his siblings were also on the national ski team; his sister Blanca

Blanca Fernández Ochoa

Blanca Fernández Ochoa is a former World Cup alpine ski racer. She competed in four Winter Olympics, from 1980 through 1992....

 won an Olympic bronze medal in 1992

Alpine skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics consisted of ten events at three venues, held near Albertville, France. Val-d'Isère hosted the men's events, except the slalom, held at Les Menuires; all five of the women's alpine events were held at Méribel...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.