Killy, Jean-Claude

born Aug. 30, 1943, Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France

French skier.

Killy was reared in an Alpine ski resort. He became the European champion in 1965, and in 1966 he won the world combined championship (downhill, slalom, and giant slalom). In 1967 he won the first World Cup for men, repeating this triumph in 1968. In the 1968 Winter Olympics he became the second skier in history to sweep the Alpine events (after Austria's Toni Sailer in 1956). He retired in 1968 but returned as a professional in 1972.

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▪ French skier

born Aug. 30, 1943, Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France

 

 French skier, a dominant figure in men's international Alpine skiing competitions from 1965 through 1968 and a popular sports personage known for his irreverent behaviour.

      Killy, a descendant of an Irish mercenary soldier named Kelly who fought for Napoleon I, was reared at Val-d'Isère, a ski resort in the French Alps. In 1964 he became the leading French male skier, winning national championships in all three divisions of Alpine skiing: downhill (downhill skiing), slalom, and giant slalom. He was the European champion for the first time in 1965. In 1966 at Portillo, Chile, he won the world combined championship in the combination event.

      In 1966–67 Killy won every downhill race he entered and earned the first World Cup for men (awarded by the Fédération Internationale de Ski [FIS] for finishing among the leaders most consistently in a series of international races). In that year and again in 1967–68, when he repeated his World Cup triumph, he led the French skiers to the world team championship. In the Olympic (Olympic Games) Winter Games of 1968 at Grenoble, France, he won gold medals for the downhill, slalom, and giant slalom races for men, becoming the second skier in Olympic history to sweep the Alpine events. (The first was Toni Sailer (Sailer, Anton) of Austria in 1956.)

      After his retirement from competitive skiing in April 1968, Killy engaged in a number of activities, including acting and auto racing. He returned to skiing in 1972 as a professional, becoming world champion of professional skiers. Killy was a major organizer of the 1992 Winter Olympic (Olympic Games) Games at Albertville, France, and also served as an adviser or director for a number of corporations.

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