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
DisciplinesAlpine skiing
ClubSC Elm
Born26 November 1964 (1964-11-26) (age 56)
Elm, Switzerland
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

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 results

Season titles

14 titles (3 overall, 5 giant slalom, 6 slalom)

SeasonDiscipline
1986Giant Slalom
1987Giant Slalom
1989Overall
Giant Slalom
Slalom
1990Slalom
1991Giant Slalom
1992Slalom
1993Slalom
1994Overall
Slalom
1995Overall
Giant Slalom
Slalom

Season standings

SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
Slalom
Super GDownhillCombined
198520922317
198621371145
1987222416142
198823523225
198924111173
19902561525
199126351
199227412
1993286112
19942911219155
19953011125232

Race victories

  • 55 wins - (34 SL, 20 GS, 1 K)
Season Date Location Race
198517 December 1984Santa Caterina, ItalyGiant Slalom
17 March 1985Waterville Valley, USAGiant Slalom
19866 January 1986Maribor, YugoslaviaGiant Slalom
19 January 1986Oberstaufen, GermanyGiant Slalom
20 March 1986Waterville Valley, USAGiant Slalom
19876 December 1986Giant Slalom
17 December 1986Courmayeur, ItalySlalom
5 January 1987Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AustriaGiant Slalom
13 February 1987Megève, FranceGiant Slalom
14 February 1987Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, FranceSlalom
22 March 1987Sarajevo, YugoslaviaGiant Slalom
19885 January 1988Tignes, FranceGiant Slalom
24 January 1988Bad Gastein, AustriaSlalom
198928 November 1988Les Menuires, FranceGiant Slalom
16 December 1988Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AustriaSlalom
Combined
18 December 1988Val Zoldana, ItalyGiant Slalom
20 December 1988Courmayeur, ItalySlalom
3 January 1989Maribor, YugoslaviaSlalom
6 January 1989Schwarzenberg, AustriaGiant Slalom
7 January 1989Giant Slalom
8 January 1989Mellau, AustriaSlalom
15 January 1989Grindelwald, SwitzerlandSlalom
21 January 1989Tignes, FranceGiant Slalom
3 March 1989Furano, JapanSlalom
8 March 1989Shigakogen, JapanGiant Slalom
10 March 1989Slalom
199025 November 1989Park City, USASlalom
6 January 1990Piancavallo, ItalySlalom
9 January 1990Hinterstoder, AustriaSlalom
21 January 1990Maribor, YugoslaviaSlalom
18 March 1990Åre, SwedenSlalom
199111 January 1991Kranjska Gora, YugoslaviaGiant Slalom
11 March 1991Lake Louise, CanadaSlalom
17 March 1991Vail, USAGiant Slalom
199230 November 1991Lech, AustriaSlalom
8 December 1991Santa Caterina, ItalyGiant Slalom
5 January 1992Oberstaufen, GermanyGiant Slalom
18 January 1992Maribor, SloveniaSlalom
29 February 1992Narvik, NorwaySlalom
19936 January 1993Maribor, SloveniaSlalom
17 January 1993Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalySlalom
19 March 1993Vemdalen, SwedenSlalom
28 March 1993Åre, SwedenSlalom
199428 November 1993Santa Caterina, ItalySlalom
19 December 1993St. Anton, AustriaSlalom
9 January 1994Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AustriaSlalom
23 January 1994Maribor, SloveniaSlalom
5 February 1994Sierra Nevada, SpainSlalom
10 March 1994Mammoth Mountain, USASlalom
20 March 1994Vail, USASlalom
199527 November 1994Park City, USASlalom
18 December 1994Sestriere, ItalySlalom
26 February 1995Maribor, SloveniaSlalom
19 March 1995Bormio, ItalySlalom

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.
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
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