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00125_Field_Art-SP5.TXT.txt
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Jean-Claude Killy
The Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy,
who was born on August 30, 1943,
was one of the best skiers of all time.
At the age of 15, he left school to fully
concentrate on skiing. In 1961 he
joined the French national team, and
gained a second place finish in the
1963 Downhill Race at Megève in
France. He then gained international
prominence with his gold victory in
the downhill races in Arlberg and
Kranjska Gora (Yugoslavia) in 1964.
1966 was the Year of Killy. In that
year, he won three Slalom titles, one
Giant Slalom and the Downhill race
in Portillo, Chile. In all, Killy would
win 15 of the 23 races he ran in the
1966-1967 winter season. He sealed
his legendary career with three Gold
medals (Slalom, Giant Slalom and
Downhill) at the 1968 Winter Olym-
pic Games in Grenoble, beating Toni
Sailer of Austria, the only other ath-
lete ever to sweep all Olympic down-
hill events. During the Olympics,
Killy clocked speeds of over 80 miles
per hour.
Killy was received as a French
national hero, and his trademark
ΓÇ£eggΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£deep crouchΓÇ¥ position in
downhill events was adopted by
scores of racers after him. With his
boyish good looks, he developed a
flourishing business career after his
retirement in 1969.