Zali Steggall

Zali Steggall is an Australian former alpine skier who became the first Australian to win an individual Winter Olympic medal, taking bronze in the slalom at the 1998 Nagano Games.

At the 1999 Alpine Ski World Championships in Vail, Colorado, Zali Steggall won the slalom title to become the first athlete from the Southern Hemisphere ever to claim an Alpine World Championship gold. She returned to Australia at 15 to join the national team, making her Olympic debut at 17 at the 1992 Albertville Games. Steggall broke through in December 1997, winning a World Cup slalom event in Park City, Utah, the first World Cup victory ever achieved by an Australian skier, and added a silver medal at Mammoth Mountain the following year. She entered the 1998 Nagano Olympics among the favourites and delivered, finishing third in the slalom to become the first Australian to win an individual Winter Olympic medal. Steggall capped her career with the finest result of her sporting life at the 1999 World Championships in Vail, Colorado, winning the slalom gold medal to become the first Australian, and the first athlete from the Southern Hemisphere, to win an Alpine World Championship title. She competed at a fourth Olympics in 2002 before retiring, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her contribution to sport. She later trained as a barrister before entering politics, being elected as an independent Member of the Australian Parliament for the Sydney seat of Warringah in 2019.

Technically precise slalom specialist known for consistency under pressure

Australia's most successful alpine skier in history, who went on to a prominent post-sport career as a barrister and independent politician

• Olympic bronze, slalom (1998), first individual Winter Olympic medal for Australia
• World Champion, slalom (1999), first Alpine World Championship title by a Southern Hemisphere athlete
• First Australian to win a World Cup alpine skiing event
• 4x Olympian (1992-2002)