Rainer Schönfelder (born June 13, 1977) is an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n skier

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

 who won the 2003-2004 men's 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...

 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 :...

 title.

Career

Born in Bleiburg

Bleiburg

Bleiburg is a small town in the south Austrian state of Carinthia , south-east of Klagenfurt , in the district of Völkermarkt, some four kilometres from the border with Slovenia....

, Carinthia

Carinthia (state)

Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Schönfelder made his debut in the 1995-1996 season, finishing 115th in the overall rankings. He quickly began to excel in the slalom events, and improved his position in the overall World Cup standing to 10th place by the 2003-2004 season.

Apart from his slalom success in the 2003-2004 World Cup, his other achievements include 2 bronze medals (combined and slalom) at the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 in Torino, Italy and a 4th place in the combined event at the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 in Salt Lake City.

On March 27, 2004, Schönfelder tested positive for the stimulant Etilephrine at the Austrian slalom championships. However, he was not banned and is competing in 2004/05, since it was found that he had taken the substance inadvertently while undergoing treatment of influenza

Influenza

Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...

.

Rainer Schönfelder has also had some success as a pop singer

Pop Singer

"Pop Singer" is the début single from London-based glam rockers Rachel Stamp. It was released in February, 1996 through WEA. The single was released as a 2 track CD Single and limited edition pink 7" vinyl of 1000 copies...

 in Austria, especially with a cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Wolfgang Ambros

Wolfgang Ambros

Wolfgang Ambros is an Austrian singer-songwriter, most famously known for setting the then-new trend in the 1970s known now as Austropop. He is most famous for his song "Da Hofa" and "Schi foan"....

' classic hit "Schifoan" (meaning "skiing").

Schönfelder made headlines on January 10, 2007 by skiing nude after losing a bet with his physiotherapist.

Trivia

Before the race in Chamonix Schönfelder slipped in the bathroom and got a contusion on his testicles.

Overall

Season	Discipline
2004 2004 Alpine Skiing World Cup The 38th World Cup season began in October 2003 in Sölden, Austria, and concluded at the World Cup finals in Sestriere, Italy, in March 2004. Sestriere would host the alpine skiing events at the 2006 Winter Olympics....	Slalom

Individual victories

Date	Location	Race
6 February 2000	Todtnau Todtnau Todtnau is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2009 its population was of 4,932.-Geography:It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 20 km southeast of Freiburg....	Slalom
20 January 2002	Kitzbühel Kitzbühel -Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...	Slalom
24 November 2002	Park City	Slalom
8 March 2003	Shigakogen	Slalom
8 February 2004	Adelboden Adelboden Adelboden is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland.-Geography:Adelboden lies in the west of the Berner Oberland, at the end of the valley of the Engstlige river, which flows in Frutigen into the Kander river.Adelboden is a...	Slalom