Jean Vuarnet

Jean Vuarnet
1960s photo of Vuarnet
Personal information
Birth nameJean Raoul Célina André Vuarnet
Born(1933-01-18)18 January 1933
Le Bardo, Tunisia
Died1 January 2017(2017-01-01) (aged 83)
Sallanches, Haute-Savoie, France
OccupationAlpine skier 
Spouses
(m. 1958; died 1995)
Christiane Veillon
(m. 1999; died 2012)
Children4
Olympics
Teams1 – (1960)
Medals1 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams2 – (1958, 1960) (includes Olympics)
Medals2 (1 gold)
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Squaw Valley Downhill
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1958 Bad Gastein Downhill

Jean Raoul Célina André Vuarnet (18 January 1933 – 1 January 2017) was an alpine ski racer from France. An Olympic gold medalist, he is known for inventing the "Tuck" skiing position, and was the first Olympian to win a gold medal using metal skis. Raised in Morzine, he had a childhood interest in skiing, which he pursued. He won a bronze medal in the downhill at the World Championships in 1958 at Bad Gastein, before winning gold in the same event in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. Vuarnet was also the author of several books on skiing. He gave his name to the Vuarnet brand in 1961. In 1995, his wife Edith Bonlieu, a fellow Olympian, and their son Patrick both died in a mass murder-suicide of members of the Order of the Solar Temple.


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