The myth of King Gustavo, born 50 years ago in Val d''Is re: a special anniversary for Italian skiing

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On 11 December 1969, Gustavo Thoeni took his first World Cup victory in the "Daille" giant, beating the hosts Patrick Russel and Jean Noel Augert.

Wednesday 11 December 2019 3 minutes reading time

Fifty years from birth, sportingly speaking, of a myth of Italian and world skiing. It was December 11th 1969 and Gustavo Thoeni won his first race in the World Cup, only 18 years old and the third participation: the magical place is the Val d''IsÃ¨re, which hosted the traditional opening of the CritÃ©rium de la PremiÃ¨re Neige, the specialty the giant, the track obviously the "Daille", which today we know as the Oreiller-Killy. That day, Trafoi's ace will become the first Italian man to win in the maximum circuit: at the start with bib number 10, Thoeni will close the first run at just one hundredths from Patrick Russel, the reference along with Jean Noel Augert of the phenomenal french team. In the second, the South Tyrolean will invent a heat that we will then define "of his", trimming over a second to Russel, accompanied on the podium by compatriot Augert, third. The best way to start the legend of the Blue Avalanche, given that the following month more victories followed and, even if that World Cup 1969/1970 went to Karl Schranz (the second consecutive for the Austrian of Sankt Anton) , from the following season there will be no more history, with the consecutive trio of King Gustavo, seasoned then by poker in Val Gardena at the end of the 1974/75 vintage, a year after the triumph of Piero Gros in 1973/74. All seasoned with world and Olympic golds, from Sapporo ''72 to the legendary double of Sankt Moritz' '74 up to Innsbruck ''76.

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