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Patrick Russel
Personal information
Born	22 December 1946 (age 77); Chamonix, France
Occupation	Alpine skier
Skiing career
World Cup debut	1968
Retired	1872
World Championships
Teams	1
Medals	2
World Cup
Seasons	5
Wins	13
Podiums	26
Overall titles	0 (2nd in 1970)
Discipline titles	3
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing France
World Cup race podiums
World Championships

Patrick Russel (born 22 December 1946) is a former French Alpine ski racer and World Cup champion. He specialized in the technical disciplines (giant slalom and slalom) and won three discipline championships in the World Cup: slalom in 1969 and 1970 and giant slalom in 1971. He also won two silver medals in slalom and combined at the 1970 World Championships at Val Gardena, Italy.

Career

Russel was the son of Lee Russel, who was a marketing executive at the French ski manufacturer Rossignol.^[1] He competed on the World Cup circuit from 1968 through 1972 and became the first male to win World Cup races in three straight years (1968–70) and in four straight years (1968–71). Overall, he won 13 World Cup races and achieved 26 podiums during his career, as well as three discipline championships (slalom in 1969 and 1970; giant slalom in 1971) and two World Championship silver medals in 1970. In 1970, he finished second overall in the World Cup (only 3 points) behind Karl Schranz, and in 1971 he was third overall behind Gustav Thöni.

In 1972, Russel broke his leg during a giant slalom in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, three weeks before the Winter Olympics and was unable to compete for the remainder of the season.^[2] After the French men failed to medal during the Olympics, the French ski coach was replaced, and the new coach fired French stars Russel, Henri Duvillard and Jean-Noël Augert from the World Cup team at the start of 1973.^[3] It has been suggested that a conflict between the two alpine cultures (alpine and urban) provoked by Bozon and Rossignol caused the firings, the three racers involved being encouraged to not take both training and races seriously just before they were fired. The coaches themselves resigned. Bozon got what he wanted and in the process destroyed the French ski team for years thereafter. All three skiers then turned professional and competed in the United States until their retirements.^[3]

After his retirement from competition, Russel became a ski instructor in France at Les Arcs.^[4]

World Cup victories

Season titles

Season	Discipline
1969	Slalom
1970	Slalom
1971	Giant slalom

Individual victories

13 total wins (9 slalom, 4 giant slalom)

Date	Location	Race
25 February 1968	Oslo	Slalom
10 March 1968	Kranjska Gora	Slalom
19 January 1969	Kitzbühel	Slalom
9 February 1969	Åre	Slalom
20 December 1969	Lienz	Giant slalom
11 January 1970	Wengen	Slalom
18 January 1970	Kitzbühel	Slalom
25 February 1970	Megève	Slalom
8 March 1970	Heavenly Valley	Giant slalom
15 March 1970	Voss	Slalom
17 December 1970	Val-d'Isère	Giant slalom
18 January 1971	Adelboden	Giant slalom
14 February 1971	Mont St. Anne	Slalom

References

^ Seth Massia (December 2007). Rossignol Turns 100. Skiing Heritage Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
^ "Ouch". St. Petersburg Times. 11 January 1972. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
^ ^a ^b William Oscar Johnson (12 April 1976). "The King of the Mountain". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
^ "Top Schools on the Slopes". New York Times. 7 November 1982. Retrieved 6 April 2010.