Willy BOGNER

Willy Bogner competed at the 1934 World Nordic Ski Championships, winning a silver medal in the relay, and at the 1935 World Nordic Combined Championships, he won an individual bronze. During his ski career he won 11 German championships in cross-country and Nordic combined. At the 1936 Winter Olympics, Bogner was honored in being chosen to recite the Oath of the Athletes at the Opening Ceremony. He finished twelfth in the nordic combined and sixth with the 4×10 km cross country relay.

By the time of those Winter Olympics, Bogner was already known as a designer of ski clothes, starting his own company, Bogner, in 1932, which outfitted the German ski team at the 1936 Garmisch Olympics. During World War II, Bogner fought for the German side, and was held as a prisoner-of-war. He re-opened his ski clothing business in 1947, pioneering stretch ski pants that were eventually modeled by Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Ingrid Bergmann. Bogner's son, Willy, Jr. also skied at the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics, and followed in his father's footsteps as a clothing designer, taking over the family company at Willy, Sr.'s death in 1977.