Current Biography Excerpts: Skiing

TOMBA, ALBERTO
Dec. 19, 1966- Italian skier.

The enfant terrible of the world's ski slopes is the flamboyant slalom specialist Alberto Tomba. The only person to successfully defend an Olympic gold medal in an Alpine skiing event, Tomba has a record-tying three Olympic gold medals in Alpine events, and he has won about thirty races on the World Cup ski circuit, but he is possibly best known for his exploits away from the slopes. A tireless and raucous party goer and an unabashed womanizer, Tomba thrives on attention from the media and from his legions of fans. According to his coach, Gustavo Thoeni, he skis best when he is in the spotlight. "He likes to always have people around, watching him," Thoeni told Christin Cooper for Skiing magazine (February 1991). "If people are watching, he goes faster." Tomba's personal magnetism and his ability to back up his enormous self-confidence with electrifying performances have dramatically increased the popularity of Alpine skiing as a spectator sport. Phil Hersh of the Chicago Tribune (February 7, 1992) wrote that Tomba is "perhaps the most captivating personality in the history of racing down mountains."

Copyright © 1996 by The H. W. Wilson Co.

The complete article can be found on the Current Biography CD-ROM and in the 1993 Current Biography Yearbook.

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