Erika Hess
Encyclopedia
Erika Hess is a former alpine ski racer
from Switzerland. She is one of the best female skiers ever, dominating the field in the 1980s with 31 World Cup
victories (22 in slalom), five slalom titles (1981
–83
, 1985
–86
), and two overall titles (1982
, 1984
). She also won six World Championship gold medals between 1982
and 1987
, as well as bronze medal in the slalom at the 1980 Winter Olympics
at age 17.
Her first World Cup start was at the age of 15 in Berchtesgaden
, West Germany, on January 25, 1978, and her first podium was on December 6, 1979, at Val-d'Isère, France.
She retired at age 25 following the 1987
season with 31 World Cup
victories, 76 podiums, and 146 top tens in 165 starts.
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...
from Switzerland. She is one of the best female skiers ever, dominating the field in the 1980s with 31 World Cup
Alpine skiing World Cup
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
victories (22 in slalom), five slalom titles (1981
1981 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 15th World Cup season began in December 1980 in France and concluded in March 1981 in Switzerland. Phil Mahre became the first American to win an overall title, the first of his three consecutive overall titles....
–83
1983 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 17th season of World Cup competition began in December 1982 in Switzerland and concluded in March 1983 in Japan. For the first time, the overall titles were won by two Americans, Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, who won his third consecutive overall title...
, 1985
1985 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 19th World Cup season began in December 1984 in Italy and concluded in March 1985 in the United States. The overall champions were Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg and Michela Figini of Switzerland....
–86
1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 20th World Cup season began in August 1985 in Argentina, resumed in December, and concluded in March 1986 in Canada. The overall champions were Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg and Maria Walliser of Switzerland.-Calendar:Note:...
), and two overall titles (1982
1982 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 16th World Cup season began in December 1981 in France and concluded in March 1982, also in France. Phil Mahre of the U.S. repeated as overall champion, the second of his three consecutive titles. Erika Hess of Switzerland won the women's overall title....
, 1984
1984 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 18th World Cup season began in December 1983 in Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia , and concluded in March 1984 in Oslo, Norway. The overall champions were Pirmin Zurbriggen and Erika Hess, both of Switzerland....
). She also won six World Championship gold medals between 1982
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982 were held in Schladming, Austria, between January 31 and February 7, 1982. The women's races were held in Haus im Ennstal....
and 1987
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1987
The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1987 were held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, between January 27 and February 8, 1987.The world championships included Super-G for the first time; it was first run on the World Cup level four seasons earlier, in December 1982.-Medals table:...
, as well as bronze medal in the slalom at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Alpine skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Alpine skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Lake Placid, New York, U.S.A.. The races were held at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington from February 14–23, 1980....
at age 17.
Her first World Cup start was at the age of 15 in Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
, West Germany, on January 25, 1978, and her first podium was on December 6, 1979, at Val-d'Isère, France.
She retired at age 25 following the 1987
1987 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 21st World Cup season began in August 1986 in Argentina, resumed in late November, and concluded in March 1987 in Sarajevo. The overall champions were Pirmin Zurbriggen and Maria Walliser, both of Switzerland....
season with 31 World Cup
Alpine skiing World Cup
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
victories, 76 podiums, and 146 top tens in 165 starts.
Season titles
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1981 1981 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 15th World Cup season began in December 1980 in France and concluded in March 1981 in Switzerland. Phil Mahre became the first American to win an overall title, the first of his three consecutive overall titles.... |
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 :... |
| 1982 1982 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 16th World Cup season began in December 1981 in France and concluded in March 1982, also in France. Phil Mahre of the U.S. repeated as overall champion, the second of his three consecutive titles. Erika Hess of Switzerland won the women's overall title.... |
Overall |
| Slalom | |
| 1983 1983 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 17th season of World Cup competition began in December 1982 in Switzerland and concluded in March 1983 in Japan. For the first time, the overall titles were won by two Americans, Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, who won his third consecutive overall title... |
Slalom |
| 1984 1984 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 18th World Cup season began in December 1983 in Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia , and concluded in March 1984 in Oslo, Norway. The overall champions were Pirmin Zurbriggen and Erika Hess, both of Switzerland.... |
Overall |
| Combined Alpine skiing combined Combined is an alpine skiing event. Although not technically a discipline of its own, it is sometimes referred to as a fifth alpine discipline, along with downhill, super G, giant slalom, and slalom.-Traditional & Super-Combined:... |
|
| 1985 1985 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 19th World Cup season began in December 1984 in Italy and concluded in March 1985 in the United States. The overall champions were Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg and Michela Figini of Switzerland.... |
Slalom |
| 1986 1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 20th World Cup season began in August 1985 in Argentina, resumed in December, and concluded in March 1986 in Canada. The overall champions were Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg and Maria Walliser of Switzerland.-Calendar:Note:... |
Slalom |
Individual victories
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 1981 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 15th World Cup season began in December 1980 in France and concluded in March 1981 in Switzerland. Phil Mahre became the first American to win an overall title, the first of his three consecutive overall titles.... |
13 January 1981 |  SchrunsSchruns Schruns is the main village of the Montafon valley in Vorarlberg, Austria, in the Bludenz district.In the west, one can see one of the most popular hiking and climbing mountains in Vorarlberg, the Zimba, which is called the "Vorarlberger Matterhorn".... , Austria |
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 :... |
| 21 January 1981 |  Crans-MontanaCrans-Montana Crans-Montana is a ski resort in western Switzerland, in the heart of the Swiss Alps in the canton of Valais. It is located on a plateau above Sierre at an elevation of about 1500 m above sea level, allowing good view over the Valais Alps and Weisshorn in particular... , Switzerland |
Slalom | |
| 31 January 1981 | Les Diablerets, Switzerland |
Slalom | |
| 3 February 1981 |  ZwieselZwiesel Zwiesel is a town in the district of Regen, in Bavaria, Germany.-Geography:Zwiesel is situated in the Bavarian Forest, lying south of Bodenmais and to the northwest of Grafenau... , West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.... |
Slalom | |
| 15 March 1981 |  FuranoFurano Ski Resort , also known as Furano Ski Area, is a resort in Furano, Hokkaido, owned and operated by Prince Hotels. One of the leading ski areas in Hokkaido, the resort became famous for its long-standing relationship with the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup. In more recent years, it has held the mid-February... , Japan |
Slalom | |
| 24 March 1981 | Wangs Bad Ragaz Bad Ragaz is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.It is the home of a famous natural spring and is a popular spa and health resort destination. Bad Ragaz is also surprisingly known as one of the best pizza towns in all of Europe... –Pizol Pizol The Pizol is a mountain in the Glarus Alps, overlooking Bad Ragaz in the canton of St. Gallen. At 2,844 metres above sea level, it is the highest summit of the chain separating the valleys of the Seez and the Tamina and the highest mountain lying entirely within the canton of St... , Switzerland |
Slalom | |
| 25 March 1981 | Wangs-Pizol, Switzerland |
Giant Slalom Giant Slalom skiing Giant slalom is an alpine skiing discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles spaced at a greater distance to each other than in slalom but less than in super G.... |
|
| 1982 1982 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 16th World Cup season began in December 1981 in France and concluded in March 1982, also in France. Phil Mahre of the U.S. repeated as overall champion, the second of his three consecutive titles. Erika Hess of Switzerland won the women's overall title.... |
13 December 1981 |  PiancavalloPiancavallo Piancavallo is a ski resort in the Dolomites of northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Aviano, in the province of Pordenone in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.- Geography:... , Italy |
Slalom |
| 21 December 1981 |  St. GervaisSaint-Gervais-les-Bains Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.The village is best known for tourism, and has been a popular holiday destination because of its beauty and location since the Early 1900's.... , France |
Slalom | |
| 3 January 1982 |  MariborMaribor Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor.... , Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... |
Slalom | |
| 20 January 1982 | Bad Gastein Bad Gastein Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ... , Austria |
Slalom | |
| 20 January 1982 | Bad Gastein, Austria |
Combined | |
| 1982 World Championships |
|||
| 21 March 1982 | L'Alpe d'Huez, France |
Giant Slalom | |
| 21 March 1982 | L'Alpe d'Huez, France |
Slalom | |
| 1983 1983 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 17th season of World Cup competition began in December 1982 in Switzerland and concluded in March 1983 in Japan. For the first time, the overall titles were won by two Americans, Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre, who won his third consecutive overall title... |
8 December 1982 | Val-d'Isère, France |
Giant slalom |
| 17 December 1982 | Piancavallo, Italy |
Slalom | |
| 9 February 1983 | Maribor, Slovenia |
Slalom | |
| 1984 1984 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 18th World Cup season began in December 1983 in Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia , and concluded in March 1984 in Oslo, Norway. The overall champions were Pirmin Zurbriggen and Erika Hess, both of Switzerland.... |
1 December 1983 | Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora is a town and a municipality on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwest Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.Kranjska Gora is best known as a winter sports town, being situated in the Julian Alps... , Slovenia |
Slalom |
| 11 December 1983 | Val-d'Isère, France |
Giant Slalom | |
| 14 December 1983 | Sestriere Sestriere Sestriere is an alpine village in Italy, a comune of the Province of Turin. It is from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin.... , Italy |
Combined | |
| 15 January 1984 | Maribor Maribor Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor.... , Slovenia |
Slalom | |
| 22 January 1984 | Verbier Verbier Verbier is a village located in southwestern Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is one of the largest holiday resort and ski areas in the Swiss Alps, is recognized as one of the premiere "off-piste" locations in the world... , Switzerland |
Combined | |
| 29 January 1984 | St. Gervais, France |
Giant Slalom | |
| 17 March 1984 |  JasnáJasná Jasná is a small village situated in central Slovakia, in the Low Tatras mountains. It is a part of the municipality Demänovská Dolina.Jasná ski resort has over twenty four lifts on both sides of the Chopok Mountain – including six chair lifts and a cable car... , Slovakia Slovakia The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... |
Giant Slalom | |
| 1985 1985 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 19th World Cup season began in December 1984 in Italy and concluded in March 1985 in the United States. The overall champions were Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg and Michela Figini of Switzerland.... |
19 March 1985 |  Park CityPark City Mountain Resort Park City Mountain Resort is a ski resort in Park City, Utah, located east of Salt Lake City. The resort has been a major tourist attraction for skiers from all over the United States, as well as a main employer for many of Park City's citizens. Park City, as the resort is often called by locals,... , UT Utah Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the... , USA |
Slalom |
| 1985 World Championships |
|||
| 22 March 1985 | Heavenly Valley Heavenly Ski Resort Heavenly Mountain Resort is a ski resort located on the California-Nevada border in South Lake Tahoe. It has 97 runs and 30 lifts that are spread between California and Nevada and four base facilities... , CA California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , USA |
Slalom | |
| 1986 1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 20th World Cup season began in August 1985 in Argentina, resumed in December, and concluded in March 1986 in Canada. The overall champions were Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg and Maria Walliser of Switzerland.-Calendar:Note:... |
12 December 1985 | Sestriere, Italy |
Combined |
| 15 December 1985 | Savognin Savognin Savognin is a municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.... , Switzerland |
Slalom | |
| 11 March 1986 | Park City, Utah, USA |
Slalom | |
| 1987 1987 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 21st World Cup season began in August 1986 in Argentina, resumed in late November, and concluded in March 1987 in Sarajevo. The overall champions were Pirmin Zurbriggen and Maria Walliser, both of Switzerland.... |
5 December 1986 | Waterville Valley Waterville Valley Resort Waterville Valley is a ski resort in the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire. The resort's motto is "Altitude without the Attitude". Built on Mount Tecumseh, with a summit elevation of above sea level, the ski trails extend to a high point on the south ridge of the mountain at ,... , NH New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian... , USA |
Slalom |
| 21 December 1986 | Val Zoldana, Italy |
Slalom | |
| 1987 World Championships |
External links
- Ski-DB.com - Results - Erika Hess