Danièle Debernard (born July 21, 1954 in Aime ) is a former French ski racer . Between 1971 and 1978 Debernard was one of the strongest drivers in the French national ski team. She won two Olympic medals, five world cup races and became a four-time French champion .
Debernard was able to place himself in the top ten for the first time in a World Cup race in January 1971 . In the following races she established herself in the top group in slalom. Finally, she won the silver medal in slalom at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo behind the American Barbara Ann Cochran . Four weeks later she won her first two World Cup victories at the World Cup finals in Pra-Loup within two days. The 1971/72 season she finished in fifth place in the slalom classification.
After she had already finished second behind Conchita Puig in the giant slalom on April 13, 1972 at the Tonale Pass ( Trient region ) , she won the slalom there the next day with about 3.5 seconds ahead of Austrian Marianne Ranner .
During the next three seasons Debernard also managed to get good results in the downhill, but she only achieved four placements on the podium. It was only in the 1975/76 Olympic season that she found her way back to success. In the run-up to the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck , she won the World Cup slalom in Les Gets and the giant slalom in Berchtesgaden . In the Olympic giant slalom, she then achieved the bronze medal. In the combination only counting for the world championship, she came second. From 1971 to 1976 Debernard won four French championship titles .
France
