Urs KAELIN

In the 1980s Urs Kälin was active in wrestling and came in fifth in the 68-kg class at the Swiss national championships in 1987. A knee injury soon ended his career, however, but he took up skiing, which he had previously practiced as a hobby, to satisfy his athletic drive. He attended his first World Championships in 1989 and finished 14th in the Giant Slalom but, by 1991, his performance was good enough to earn silver in that event, as well as 8th place in the Super G. He was selected to represent Switzerland at the Winter Olympics in 1992, where he competed in the Super G and finished 14th among 119 competitors. After slipping to 4th in the Giant Slalom at the 1993 World Championships, he achieved his greatest success at the 1994 Winter Olympics by winning silver in that event with a total time of only 0.02 seconds slower than gold medalist Markus Wasmeier of Germany. He captured his final major international medal, silver in the Giant Slalom, at the 1996 World Championships, although he continued competing for many years thereafter. He was 12th in the Giant Slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics and 14th at the 2001 World Championships, after which he retired from active competition due to injury. Over his career he earned three World Cup victories in the Giant Slalom (one in 1989 and two in 1996), placed on the podium 14 times, and was in the top ten 42 times, almost always in the Giant Slalom.