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.

Pamela Behr
Alpine skier
DisciplinesSlalom, Giant Slalom,
Downhill, Combined
Born (1956-09-21) September 21, 1956
Hindelang, West Germany
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[1]
World Cup debut1971 (age 14)[2]
Retired1980 (age 23)
Olympics
Teams3 – (1972, 1976, 1980)
Medals0 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams2 – (1974, 1978)
Medals1 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons10 - (1971-1980)
Wins1
Podiums5
Overall titles0
Discipline titles0

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
1972March 17, 1972 Pra-LoupSlalom2nd15 years, 178 days
1973December 9, 1972 Val d'IsereSlalom1st16 years, 79 days
January 2, 1973 MariborSlalom2nd16 years, 103 days
1976December 17, 1975 Cortina d'AmpezzoSlalom2nd19 years, 87 days
1977January 19, 1977 SchrunsSlalom3rd20 years, 120 days

World Championships medals

Season Date Location Discipline Place Age
1978February 3, 1978 Garmisch-PartenkirchenSlalomSilver21 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

  1. 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.
  2. McKee, Hank (June 2009). "How Ski Racers Have Changed". Skiing Heritage. 21 (2): 9–11. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  3. "World Cup Women's Age Stats". Ski-db.com. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
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