Albert Giger

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Albert Giger Cross-country skiing
nation SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
birthday 7th October 1946 (age 73)
place of birth Rhäzüns , Switzerland
size 164 cm
Weight 57 kg
Career
status resigned
End of career 1978
Medal table
Olympic medals 0 × gold 0 × silver 1 × bronze
Olympic rings winter Olympics
bronze 1972 Sapporo Season
 

Albert Giger (born October 7, 1946 in Rhäzüns ) is a former Swiss cross-country skier . His greatest international success was winning the bronze medal with the Swiss cross-country relay at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo .

Career

Giger began playing ice hockey as a child , but withdrew from the sport as a teenager due to his short stature. After his second year of training as a typesetter, he came to cross-country skiing on a summer vacation trip in Magglingen , as the Swiss national team was training on site at the same time. After winning a test run on the local athletics track, Giger began actively working on his career as a cross-country skier.

Giger started at the Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble in 1968 in the 15 km individual race and finished in 30th place. At the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1970 in Štrbské Pleso , he ran as the best Swiss in individual singles in 21st place. The day before, he had reached fifth place in the relay. Two years later at the 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo , Japan , he finished 14th over this distance before winning the bronze medal in the 4 × 10 km relay race together with Edi Hauser , Alois and Alfred Kälin . The team was still in sixth place after the first change and after the second change they caught up with the Swedes in third place. On the final straight, Hauser was able to prevail against Sven-Åke Lundbäck and secure third place. It was the first Swiss medal in the cross-country skiing relay.

In 1971, 1973 and from 1976 to 1978 Giger won the Engadin Skimarathon a total of five times and thus holds the men's record to this day. Giger is also a multiple Swiss champion.

In 1978 Giger ended his active cross-country skiing career and began to work as a cross-country ski trainer. In 1975 he had already become the director of the cross-country skiing school in St. Moritz . Prominent students also include Formula 1 racing driver Niki Lauda and pop singer Vicky Leandros . After the winter of 2013/14, he ended his coaching career and retired. However, he continued his position as technical director of the Engadin Skimarathon, which he had since taken over. It was not until 2016 that he resigned from this post after 25 years. In addition to sports, Giger and his family run a paint shop in Bever GR .

Web links

  • Albert Giger in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
  • Albert Giger on Olympic.org  - The Official website of the Olympic movement (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Giger: “I don't regret a step on cross-country skis”. In: suedostschweiz.ch. March 3, 2013, accessed April 24, 2017 .
  2. ↑ 15 km of cross-country skiing at the 1970 World Championships. In: sportalbum.ch. February 9, 1970. Retrieved April 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Brilliant achievement of the 4x10km relay at the world championships. In: sportalbum.ch. February 8, 1970. Retrieved April 24, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Swiss cross-country school. St. Moritz (PDF), accessed on April 24, 2017
  5. ↑ a b Farewell to the cross-country school. In: Engadiner Post . April 18, 2014, accessed April 24, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Race director Albert Giger: “It was a wonderful , unforgettable time!” In: nordic-online.ch. March 9, 2016, accessed April 24, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Standard: Curling Club Silvaplana - Coppa Romana. In: silvaplana-curling.ch. February 21, 2014, accessed April 24, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Giger, Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss cross-country skier
DATE OF BIRTH October 7, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Rhäzüns , Switzerland