Emile ALLAIS

Émile Allais left school at 12-years-old to work in his family’s hotel. He entered the French military, completing his military service in 1932 at the 27th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpin in Annecy. Allais was by then a top skiier and won two silver medals (downhill, combined) at the 1935 World Championships in Mürren. His greatest championship was the 1937 Worlds when he brought home gold medals in the downhill, slalom, and combined events. Allais also added three more World Championships medals, gold in combined and silvers in downhill and slalom, at the 1938 Worlds, giving him eight World medals in all – four gold and four silver.

In World War II Allais worked as a resistance fighter with the Haute Montagne battalion. He later helped start ski resorts at Squaw Valley, California, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and Portillo, Chile. In 1954 he returned to France to serve as technical director at the Courcheval ski resort. He later moved on, serving as technical director at La Plagne and Flaine. Allais also founded the École de Ski Français. In 2005 he was honored by the French Senate for his contributions to skiing. He died in 2012, a few months after his 100th birthday.