Verena "Vreni" Schneider (born 26 November 1964) is a retired ski racer from Switzerland. She is the most successful alpine ski racer of her country, the fourth most successful female ski racer ever (after Lindsey Vonn, Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mikaela Shiffrin) and was voted "Swiss Sportswoman of the Century".

Early life Schneider was born in Elm, the daughter of a shoemaker. Her mother died of cancer when Schneider was a teenager: as a result she put her ski career on hold and dropped out of school to look after the family home.

Racing career Schneider made her World Cup debut at the age of 20. Schneider won the overall alpine skiing World Cup three times and eleven discipline World Cups in Slalom and Giant slalom, along with 55 World Cup races (number four all-time among women to Moser-Pröll, Vonn and Shiffrin). She also won five medals at the Winter Olympics including 3 golds (Slalom and giant slalom at Calgary in 1988 and Slalom at Lillehammer in 1994), and six medals at the World Championships including 3 more golds (Giant slalom at Crans-Montana in 1987 and Vail in 1989; Slalom at Saalbach in 1991).

During the 1988–89 season she won 14 World Cup races, a record for single season wins that stood until Shiffrin beat that record in the 2018–19 season.

In April 1995, after eleven successful seasons, she announced her retirement. Today she runs a ski and snowboard school in her home village of Elm as well as a sport equipment shop in Glarus.

Vreni Schneider is praised in the Half Man Half Biscuit song 'Uffington Wassail' thus: "Vreni Schneider – you’re my downhill lady! Vreni Schneider – you’re the queen of the slopes!" The song is on the album Trouble Over Bridgwater from the year 2000.

World Cup results

Season titles 14 titles – (3 overall, 6 Slalom, 5 Giant slalom) SeasonDiscipline1986 Giant slalom1987 Giant slalom 1989 Overall Slalom Giant slalom 1990 Slalom 1991 Giant slalom 1992 Slalom 1993 Slalom 1994 Overall Slalom 1995 Overall Slalom Giant slalom

Season standings SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiantslalomDownhillCombined 1985 20 9 22 3 — — 17 1986 21 3 7 1 14 — 5 1987 22 2 4 1 6 14 2 1988 23 5 2 3 22 — 5 1989 24 1 1 1 17 — 3 1990 25 6 1 5 25 — — 1991 26 3 5 1 — — — 1992 27 4 1 2 — — — 1993 28 6 1 12 — — — 1994 29 1 1 2 19 15 5 1995 30 1 1 1 25 23 2

Race victories TotalSlalomGiant slalomDownhillSuper-GCombinedParallel Wins 55 34 20 0 0 1 0 Podiums 101 47 46 1 2 5 0 Season Date Location Discipline1985 2 victories (2 GS) 17 December 1984 Santa Caterina, Italy Giant slalom17 March 1985 Waterville Valley, United States Giant slalom 1986 3 victories (3 GS) 6 January 1986 Maribor, Yugoslavia Giant slalom19 January 1986 Oberstaufen, GermanyGiant slalom 20 March 1986 Waterville Valley, United States Giant slalom1987 6 victories (2 SL, 4 GS) 6 December 1986Giant slalom17 December 1986 Courmayeur, ItalySlalom 5 January 1987 Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AustriaGiant slalom 13 February 1987 Megève, FranceGiant slalom 14 February 1987 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, FranceSlalom 22 March 1987 Sarajevo, YugoslaviaGiant slalom 1988 2 victories (1 SL, 1 GS) 5 January 1988 Tignes, France Giant slalom24 January 1988 Bad Gastein, AustriaSlalom 1989 14 victories (7 SL, 6 GS, 1 AC) 28 November 1988 Les Menuires, France Giant slalom 16 December 1988 Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AustriaSlalom Combined 18 December 1988 Val Zoldana, ItalyGiant slalom 20 December 1988 Courmayeur, ItalySlalom 3 January 1989 Maribor, YugoslaviaSlalom 6 January 1989 Schwarzenberg, AustriaGiant slalom 7 January 1989Giant slalom 8 January 1989 Mellau, AustriaSlalom 15 January 1989 Grindelwald, SwitzerlandSlalom 21 January 1989 Tignes, FranceGiant slalom 3 March 1989 Furano, JapanSlalom 8 March 1989 Shigakogen, JapanGiant slalom 10 March 1989Slalom 1990 5 victories (5 SL) 25 November 1989 Park City, United States Slalom6 January 1990 Piancavallo, ItalySlalom 9 January 1990 Hinterstoder, AustriaSlalom 21 January 1990 Maribor, YugoslaviaSlalom 18 March 1990 Åre, SwedenSlalom 1991 3 victories (1 SL, 2 GS) 11 January 1991 Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia Giant slalom11 March 1991 Lake Louise, CanadaSlalom 17 March 1991 Vail, United States Giant slalom 1992 5 victories (3 SL, 2 GS) 30 November 1991 Lech, Austria Slalom8 December 1991 Santa Caterina, ItalyGiant slalom 5 January 1992 Oberstaufen, GermanyGiant slalom 18 January 1992 Maribor, SloveniaSlalom 29 February 1992 Narvik, NorwaySlalom 1993 4 victories (4 SL) 6 January 1993 Maribor, SloveniaSlalom17 January 1993 Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalySlalom 19 March 1993 Vemdalen, SwedenSlalom 28 March 1993 Åre, SwedenSlalom 1994 7 victories (7 SL) 28 November 1993 Santa Caterina, ItalySlalom19 December 1993 St Anton, AustriaSlalom 9 January 1994 Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AustriaSlalom 23 January 1994 Maribor, SloveniaSlalom 5 February 1994 Sierra Nevada, SpainSlalom 10 March 1994 Mammoth Mountain, United States Slalom 20 March 1994 Vail, United States Slalom 1995 4 victories (4 SL) 27 November 1994 Park City, United States Slalom18 December 1994 Sestriere, ItalySlalom 26 February 1995 Maribor, SloveniaSlalom 19 March 1995 Bormio, ItalySlalom

World Championship results YearAgeSlalomGiantslalomDownhillCombined 1985 20 — 12 — — 1987 22 — 1 4 — 4 1989 24 2 1 — — 2 1991 26 1 7 — — 3

Olympic results YearAgeSlalomGiantslalomDownhillCombined 1988 23 1 1 — — DNF2 1992 27 7 DNF1 — — — 1994 29 1 3 — 33 2

References

External links