Didier Défago
Défago in 2014
Personal information
Born (1977-10-02) 2 October 1977
Morgins, Valais, Switzerland
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill, Super G giant slalom, combined
World Cup debut7 March 1996 (age 18)
Retired18 March 2015 (age 37)
WebsiteDidierDefago.ch
Olympics
Teams4 – (2002–2014)
Medals1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams7 – (2001–09, '13–15)
Medals0
World Cup
Wins5 – (3 DH, 2 SG)
Podiums16
Overall titles0 – (6th in 2005, 2009)
Discipline titles0 – (3rd in DH, SG; 2009)
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing   Switzerland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver Downhill

Didier Défago (born 2 October 1977) is a Swiss retired World Cup alpine ski racer.

Born in Morgins, Valais, Défago made his World Cup debut at age 18 in March 1996, and was Swiss national champion in downhill (2003) and giant slalom (2004). At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he won the downhill at Whistler to become the Olympic champion.[1]

Didier Défago winning gold
at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Défago finished the 2005 World Cup season as sixth overall and fourth in the Super-G, his most successful season so far. In 2009 he won two downhill races in a row, the classics at Wengen and Kitzbühel.[2] He was the first to win these in consecutive weeks since Stephan Eberharter in 2002, and the first Swiss racer since Franz Heinzer in 1992.

While training on a glacier above Zermatt in mid-September 2010, Defago fell and injured ligaments in his left knee, ending his 2011 season.[3]

Défago announced his retirement in March 2015, after a second-place finish at the World Cup finals in the downhill in Méribel, France, and had his final World Cup race the next day in the super-G.[4]

World Cup results

Season standings

SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
slalom		Super-GDownhillCombined
199618126——38——
199719injured
199820138—54———
19992193——29——
20002227—151639—
20012324—231317—
20022414—137347
2003251153117187
20042632—31262113
2005276—144153
2006281552212299
20072914619142115
2008309—184921
2009316—203320
20103212—281288
201133injured
20123418—17191323
20133530—192629—
20143619—36616—
20153718——713—

Race podiums

  • 5 wins – (3 DH, 2 SG)
  • 16 podiums – (5 DH, 7 SG, 3 AC, 1 GS)
SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
200203 Mar 2002 Norway Kvitfjell, NorwaySuper-G2nd
200320 Dec 2002Italy Val Gardena, ItalySuper-G1st
26 Jan 2003Austria Kitzbühel, AustriaCombined3rd
200514 Jan 2005 Switzerland  Wengen, SwitzerlandSuper combined3rd
20 Feb 2005Germany Garmisch, GermanySuper-G2nd
06 Mar 2005 Norway Kvitfjell, NorwaySuper-G2nd
200717 Dec 2006Italy Alta Badia, ItalyGiant slalom3rd
200813 Mar 2008Italy Bormio, ItalySuper-G2nd
200919 Dec 2008Italy Val Gardena, ItalySuper-G2nd
17 Jan 2009 Switzerland  Wengen, SwitzerlandDownhill1st
24 Jan 2009Austria Kitzbühel, AustriaDownhill1st
201004 Dec 2009United States Beaver Creek, United StatesSuper Combined2nd
29 Dec 2009Italy Bormio, ItalyDownhill2nd
201229 Dec 2011Downhill1st
201426 Jan 2014Austria Kitzbühel, AustriaSuper-G1st
201518 Mar 2015France Méribel, FranceDownhill2nd

World Championship results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
200123——11——
200325—2221—7
200527—127614
200729—1317104
200931—208DNF—
201133injured
201335—DNF2268—
201537——711—

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
200224—14621DNF2
200628—141626DNF2
201032——151DNF2
201436—DNF1DNF14—

References

  1. ↑ "Didier Défago takes downhill gold for Switzerland". The Guardian. Associated Press. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. ↑ "Defago wins World Cup downhill on Streif". USA Today. Associated Press. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Ski Racing.com – 15 September 2010
  4. ↑ – 18 March 2015
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