Pamela Behr
Pamela Behr (born September 21, 1956 in Hindelang, then West Germany) is a retired German alpine ski racer. She is the second youngest person ever to win an FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race, winning a slalom in Val d'Isere, France, in December 1972 at the age of 16 years, 79 days.[2][3] It would be the only World Cup race win of her ten-year career. She won the silver medal in slalom at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1978 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
| Alpine skier | ||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill, Combined | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | September 21, 1956 Hindelang, West Germany | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[1] | |||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 1971 (age 14)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Retired | 1980 (age 23) | |||||||||||||
| Olympics | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 – (1972, 1976, 1980) | |||||||||||||
| Medals | 0 (0 gold) | |||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | 2 – (1974, 1978) | |||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (0 gold) | |||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 10 - (1971-1980) | |||||||||||||
| Wins | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Podiums | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 0 | |||||||||||||
Medal record
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Skiing career
Behr made her debut on the World Cup circuit at the age of 14 in the 1971 season[2] and scored her first World Cup points the next year, with three top-ten results during the 1972 season. These included second place in a slalom in Pra-Loup, France, in March 1972 at the age of 15 years, 178 days, the youngest ever to finish on a World Cup podium (top three).[3]
She competed in three Winter Olympics, racing in all alpine skiing events during her Olympic debut in 1972 at age 15, finishing 6th in slalom, 25th in giant slalom, and 36th in downhill.[1] She would place 5th in slalom at the 1976 Olympics, but failed to finish the slalom in her final Olympics in 1980.
Behr won the West German national championships a total of seven times between 1971 and 1979, six times in slalom and once in giant slalom.
World Cup podiums
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | March 17, 1972 |  Pra-Loup | Slalom | 2nd | 15 years, 178 days |
| 1973 | December 9, 1972 | Val d'Isere | Slalom | 1st | 16 years, 79 days |
| January 2, 1973 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Maribor | Slalom | 2nd | 16 years, 103 days | |
| 1976 | December 17, 1975 |  Cortina d'Ampezzo | Slalom | 2nd | 19 years, 87 days |
| 1977 | January 19, 1977 |  Schruns | Slalom | 3rd | 20 years, 120 days |
World Championships medals
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | February 3, 1978 |  Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Slalom | Silver | 21 years, 135 days |
Personal life
Pamela Behr is the daughter of Sepp Behr, an alpine ski racer who also won seven West German national championships titles in slalom, giant slalom, and combined from 1954 to 1962. She is married to Christian Knauth, the marketing and communications director of the FIS (International Ski Federation).
References
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pamela Behr". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- McKee, Hank (June 2009). "How Ski Racers Have Changed". Skiing Heritage. 21 (2): 9–11. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- "World Cup Women's Age Stats". Ski-db.com. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
External links
- Pamela Behr at the International Ski Federation
- Pamela Behr at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Pamela Behr at the International Olympic Committee