Goitschel, Marielle

▪ French skier

born Sept. 28, 1945, Sainte-Maxime, France

      French Alpine ski racer who won Olympic gold medals in both the slalom and giant slalom events in the 1960s.

      Goitschel and her older sister Christine (Goitschel, Christine) formed a dominant pair in the 1964 Winter Olympic games. In the slalom Marielle had the fastest time of the first run but finished second to her sister and was forced to settle for the silver medal. She trailed after the first run of the giant slalom to Christine and American Jean Saubert, who were tied for first at 1 min 53.11 sec, but a remarkable second run put Marielle in front by 0.47 second and won her the gold. In the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, she captured the gold medal in the slalom with a time of 1 min 25.86 sec, though she finished seventh place in the giant slalom.

      Goitschel also enjoyed considerable success outside the Olympics. She captured the world championship title in the Alpine combined in 1962, 1964, and 1966 and the giant slalom title in 1966. After retiring from professional skiing, she managed a ski program for children at Val Thorens, a ski resort in the Alps.

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