Born in Paris, the son of Léon Oreiller, of Italian origin, and Marguerite Favre, from Savoie. His parents lived in Paris and frequented Val d'Isère for holidays. Oreiller was a member of Section Eclairuers Skieurs, a specialist skiing section of the French Resistance during World War II. After the liberation of Paris he fought in the Alps in an elite winter combat unit of the French Army.[2]
Nicknamed the "Parisian of Val d'Isère" or the "madman of downhill", he was the inaugural downhill gold medallist at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics, with a record margin of four seconds over the runner-up. His medals cache included: the gold medal in the combined event, and the bronze medal in the special slalom. He missed one of his medal ceremonies because he was playing accordion in a local bar, and received his medal a week later.[2]
Obsessed with speed, Oreiller retired from ski racing in 1952 at age 26 to take up motor racing. Ten years later, he had a racing car accident which took his life on 7 October 1962. A tire blowout at 100 mph (160 km/h) caused his Ferrari to flip at the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome and he later died at Hôpital Cochin in Paris.[3]
At his shrine at Val d'Isère, where he is interred next to his wife, testimonies from around the world bear witness to his abilities.
henri, oreiller, henri, jean, auguste, oreiller, december, 1925, october, 1962, alpine, racer, olympic, gold, medalist, from, france, gold, medals, bronze, 1948, winter, olympics, becoming, most, successful, athlete, those, games, moritz, switzerland, illustra. Henri Jean Auguste Oreiller 5 December 1925 7 October 1962 1 was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from France He won two gold medals and a bronze at the 1948 Winter Olympics becoming the most successful athlete those Games in St Moritz Switzerland 2 Henri OreillerAn illustration of Henri Oreiller ca 1948Born 1925 12 05 5 December 1925Paris FranceDied7 October 1962 1962 10 07 aged 36 Paris FranceOccupationAlpine skierSkiing careerDisciplinesdownhill giant slalom slalom combinedClubVal d IsereRetired1952 age 26 OlympicsTeams2 1948 1952 Medals3 2 gold World ChampionshipsTeams3 1948 1950 1952 includes OlympicsMedals3 2 gold Medal record Men s alpine skiingRepresenting FranceOlympic GamesWorld Championships1948 St Moritz Downhill1948 St Moritz Combined1948 St Moritz Slalom Contents 1 Biography 2 Arlberg Kandahar 3 Others 4 Motor racing 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditBorn in Paris the son of Leon Oreiller of Italian origin and Marguerite Favre from Savoie His parents lived in Paris and frequented Val d Isere for holidays Oreiller was a member of Section Eclairuers Skieurs a specialist skiing section of the French Resistance during World War II After the liberation of Paris he fought in the Alps in an elite winter combat unit of the French Army 2 Nicknamed the Parisian of Val d Isere or the madman of downhill he was the inaugural downhill gold medallist at the 1948 St Moritz Olympics with a record margin of four seconds over the runner up His medals cache included the gold medal in the combined event and the bronze medal in the special slalom He missed one of his medal ceremonies because he was playing accordion in a local bar and received his medal a week later 2 He competed in the 1950 World Championships at Aspen and finished fourth in the new event the giant slalom At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo Oreiller was 14th in the downhill and 16th in the giant slalom 2 Obsessed with speed Oreiller retired from ski racing in 1952 at age 26 to take up motor racing Ten years later he had a racing car accident which took his life on 7 October 1962 A tire blowout at 100 mph 160 km h caused his Ferrari to flip at the Linas Montlhery autodrome and he later died at Hopital Cochin in Paris 3 At his shrine at Val d Isere where he is interred next to his wife testimonies from around the world bear witness to his abilities Arlberg Kandahar EditBest result 2nd place in slalom 1947 a Murren and 1950 a Murren Others EditWinner of the Harriman Cup in 1949 in Sun Valley in the U S in downhill slalom and combined 4 5 Champion of France in special slalom in 1947 Motor racing EditChampion of France in touring category in 1959 Tour de France 1959 winner on points Lyon Carbonniere Rallye in 1960 and 1961 References Edit Motorsport Memorial Henri Oreiller Motorsport Memorial Retrieved 31 March 2023 a b c d Henri Oreiller Archived 28 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Sports Reference Race driver dies in French crash Wilmington NC Morning Star UPI 8 October 1962 p 10 French ski aces garner Harriman Cups by sweeping slalom events Deseret News INS 28 March 1949 p B 2 French skiers win Harriman Cup races Lewiston Daily Sun UPI 28 March 1949 p 8 External links EditHenri Oreiller at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation Henri Oreiller at the International Olympic Committee Encyclopaedia Britannica Henri Oreiller Henri Oreiller at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henri Oreiller amp oldid 1172597030, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
