Meet Verena Schneider, one of the most successful alpine ski racer in Switzerland

Verena Schneider, a retired ski racer from Switzerland, was born on November 26, 1964. She was chosen as the “Swiss Sportswoman of the Century” and is the most successful alpine ski racer in her nation. She is also the fourth most successful female ski racer in history, behind Lindsey Vonn, Annemarie Moser-Pröll, and Mikaela Shiffrin.

Early Life

Schneider, the daughter of a shoemaker, was born in Elm. When Schneider was a teenager, her mother passed away from cancer; as a result, she had to stop her ski career and drop out of school in order to take care of the family house.

Racing Career

At the age of 20, Schneider made her World Cup debut.  Schneider claimed the overall alpine skiing World Cup three times in her illustrious career. She also won 11 World Cups in the Slalom and Giant Slalom disciplines, which was followed by 55 World Cup races. This made the ace skier stand at number four among all-time women after Moser-Proll, Vonn and Shiffrin.

Additionally, she won six medals at the World Championships, including 3 golds (Giant Slalom at Crans-Montana in 1987 and Vail in 1989; Slalom at Saalbach in 1991).

She also won five medals at the Winter Olympics, including three more golds in the slalom, giant slalom, and slalom events in Calgary in 1988 and Lillehammer in 1994.

She set a record for the most victories in a single season in 1988–89 with 14 victories, which she held until Shiffrin surpassed it in the 2018–19 campaign.

After eleven brilliant seasons, she announced her retirement in April 1995. She currently owns a sports equipment store in Glarus as well as a ski and snowboard school in her hometown of Elm. In the song “Uffington Wassail” by Half Man Half Biscuit, Vreni Schneider is lauded as follows: “You’re my downward lady, Vreni Schneider! You are the ski slopes’ reigning monarch, Vreni Schneider!” The track can be found on the album Trouble Over.

Records

Long standing record

Schneider set a record for the most victories in a single season in the World Cup during the following campaign in 1988–1989 season, winning 14 of them. Despite a herniated disc that prevented her from competing at the 1992 Winter Olympics, she continued to rule women’s Alpine skiing in the years that followed.

The first female alpine skier for three gold medals

She returned to her pre-Lillehammer form for the 1994 Lillehammer Games. She won a bronze in the giant slalom and a silver in the alpine combined. Schneider, who finished fifth after the first run of the slalom, attacked the second run with such ferocity that she took home the gold. Schneider set a record by becoming the first female Alpine skier to claim three gold medals and collect five medals overall.

Achievements