Rolando THÖNI

Rolando Thoeni (German Roland Thöni) obtained his first good result in 1971 in the slalom in Mürren, Switzerland, finishing seventh. His best year was 1972, winning the bronze medal in the slalom at the Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo in 1972, in spite of a heavy fall during training the previous day. With him on the podium was his cousin Gustavo Thoeni, who won silver. A month later, in March 1972, he won his only two World Cup races in the slalom on two consecutive days. He competed in the World Cup for two more seasons, in 1973 and 1975, but with no podium finishes. In 1973 Thoeni broke his leg when he fell during the downhill race in Schladming. His best placement in the overall ranking of the World Cup was seventh in 1972. His last appearance in an international race was the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics. At Italian Championships Thoeni won two medals in the downhill – including one championship in 1973 - and one in slalom. He later ran a ski rental in Solda.