Brigitte OERTLI

Brigitte Oertli began representing Switzerland in alpine skiing World Cup races in 1981, but did not earn a podium finish until 1984, when she came in third in the combined. She was selected for that year’s Winter Olympics, where she placed 12th in the downhill and failed to finish the slalom, but began to improve rapidly and by the end of the year had captured her first World Cup victory in the combined. The following year she attended her first World Championship, where she was fourth in the combined, fifth in the slalom, and eighth in the downhill. She fared worse at the 1987 edition, but entered the 1988 Winter Olympics as a favorite in the combined based on her excellent performance at the World Cup. She was edged out by Austria’s Anita Wachter for the gold medal, but took home silver in the event, as well as one in the downhill, which was surprising, as it was her mediocre downhill performance that had cost her gold in the combined. She was also 17th in the Super G and failed to finish the slalom. Her final major international medal, bronze in the combined, came at the 1989 World Championships, and she retired early into the 1990 World Cup season. Overall she had 36 World Cup podium finishes, six of which were victories in the combined and two of which were wins in the slalom.