Swiss · Le Pâquier, Neuchâtel, Switzerland · Born 16 August 1974Swiss downhill specialist who became the World Cup's oldest-ever race winner at age 37.
Didier Cuche was born on 16 August 1974 in Le Pâquier, Neuchâtel, growing up at a restaurant his family ran at the local Les Bugnenets ski area and completing a butcher's apprenticeship before turning to professional skiing. He made his World Cup debut in 1993 and won Olympic silver in the super-G at the 1998 Nagano Games, sharing the medal with Austria's Hans Knauss after both recorded identical times. Cuche went on to win four World Cup downhill titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011), a super-G title in 2011 and a giant slalom title in 2009, a record for downhill titles surpassed only by Franz Klammer's five. Remarkably, all but one of his four downhill globes came after he turned 33, and in January 2011 he became the oldest race winner in World Cup history, a record he continued extending in each of his final two seasons. Cuche's signature victory came at Kitzbühel's legendary Hahnenkamm downhill, which he won a record five times, the last coming in 2012 during his farewell season at age 37, overtaking Franz Klammer's previous record of four. He retired at the end of the 2012 season with 21 World Cup victories and 67 podiums, and moved into coaching the Swiss national team, drawing on decades of rivalry and mutual respect with contemporaries including Bode Miller.
Record five-time winner of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm downhill; oldest World Cup race winner in history at the time
How They Played
Aggressive downhill and super-G specialist renowned for a fast, attacking finish and a signature ski-flip victory celebration
Lasting Impact
Regarded as one of the finest speed skiers of his generation, celebrated for extending his competitive peak well into his late 30s
Career Honours
- 6 discipline titles (4 DH, 1 SG, 1 GS)
- record 5 Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm downhill wins
- Olympic super-G silver (1998)
- World Championship super-G gold (2009)
Swiss Athletes