Ski legend Roland Collombin has died

Two years ago, Roland Collombin began the toughest battle of his life. Thanks to his strong character and extraordinary willpower, the native of Lower Valais initially overcame throat cancer, only to later be diagnosed with liver cancer. Now, the 1972 Olympic silver medalist in the downhill event in Sapporo has passed away, as his family announced on Instagram.

The wildest of all successful ski racers

Bernhard Russi and Roland Collombin. They were the best Swiss ski racers in the early 1970s. One was the nation’s favorite, the dream son-in-law, and the federation’s model athlete. The other was Collombin, the wild, lazy rascal—the Valais bon vivant who partied hard both on and off the slopes and didn’t care a bit about his image. He won eight World Cup races and the Downhill World Cup twice.

Collombin was a madman—mostly in a positive sense—unpredictable at any time of day, both a joker and an enfant terrible all rolled into one. He provided the tabloids with material for stories with remarkable regularity and didn’t mind when they called him the John McEnroe of skiing and wrote that Fendant flowed through his veins.

The man from Val de Bagnes, the son of an Italian mother and a Valaisan father, was the wildest of all the successful ski racers Switzerland has ever produced. And he stood by it. He was a fervent advocate of the good life and would always be a slacker, he said bluntly. Work as little as necessary and get as much out of life as possible—that was his motto.

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Sapporo—where, surprisingly, he won silver behind Russi even before his first World Cup podium finish—the police temporarily jailed him after a drinking binge with hockey player Jacques Pousaz. The two athletes had been up to all sorts of mischief, and his buddy got into a fistfight. He claimed at least two World Cup victories after drinking binges or romantic trysts that lasted into the early hours of race day.

Valais-based ski racer and Olympic silver medalist Roland Collombin is warmly welcomed at Geneva's Cointrin Airport by his mother (right) and his father (left), photographed on February 29, 1972. (KEYSTONE/Str)

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Sometimes Collombin gave the impression that racing was nothing but an adventure for him. But that impression was misleading—partly because the Valais native liked to play up his image as a slacker and bluff his way through things. He had always been aware that anyone who wanted to be successful had to train, he once said in retrospect. And he had always known when he had to give it his all. Russi, his rival and friend, was certain that behind closed doors, Collombin worked just as hard as the others.

Hindered by injuries time and again

The fact that the athletic career of this talented, fearless, and carefree daredevil ended with eight World Cup victories, two downhill Crystal Globes, and Olympic and World Championship silver medals in Sapporo was due to health reasons. Collombin’s career spanned just three years; he achieved all of his successes in a little over two years.

At the end of 1974, a sprained spine following a fall in Val d'Isère forced him to take a one-year break. A year later, he fell again in exactly the same spot—this time so severely that he fractured two vertebrae, was paralyzed for two days, and was forced to end his career at the age of 24. Since then, the jump on the Oreiller-Killy run has been called “Bosse à Collombin,” or the “Collombin Bump.”

Collombin himself considered his victory in Wengen in 1974—as the first Swiss to win there in 20 years—and, in particular, his two triumphs in Kitzbühel in 1973 and 1974 to be his greatest achievements. He regarded the silver medal in Sapporo as a lost gold, even though he had traveled to Japan with a 7th-place finish as his best result and without any expectations. After posting surprising best times in training, he panicked, Collombin explained.

Stays true to himself after retiring from his career

After his career ended prematurely, Collombin remained true to himself. First, he took an extended break; then he pursued other dreams. One summer, he worked on an alp; he also worked as a restaurateur, winemaker, pub owner, and beverage and wine merchant. He also ran the raclette bar Le Streif in Martigny. While working as a restaurateur in his hometown of Versegères—where the locals eyed the bon vivant with suspicion—he met Sarah, a Franco-Canadian. The two married and had a son and a daughter.

Former Swiss ski racer Didier Cuche (left) and former Swiss ski racer Roland Collombin (right) pose during “All Star Day” at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. (KEYSTONE/Jean-Christophe Bott)

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In 1989, Collombin narrowly escaped death in a head-on car accident that was not his fault. In 2018, he said he was doing better than ever and was currently enjoying the best years of his life. He said he was free from work-related worries and went on trips to the mountains with his wife almost every day. Of course, he didn’t fail to mention their evening stops at the raclette bar.