Sylviane Berthod

The youngest of three children of Stéphane and Chantal Berthod, Sylviane had two older brothers, Xavier and Patrick. She started skiing with her family at the age of four and had her first competition when she was seven. Berthod went on to become a two-time Olympian. She made her Olympic début at Salt Lake City in 2002 where she had the best result of her Olympic career when she finished seventh in the downhill (she did not finish the super-G). Twice a world junior champion, she stood at the top of the podium in the 1995 super-G and the 1996 downhill. Berthod competed at five World Championships between 1999-2007, with her best results being at Vail, USA, in 1999 where she finished seventh in super-G, and 13th in the downhill (and again 13th in 2005). She won one World Cup downhill race in her career (2001) and collected five other podium results (four seconds, one third). She was also a four-time Swiss champion, winning three downhill titles (1997-99) and one giant slalom title (1998). Her first international competition was the 1991 Les M&M’S - Trophée Roses des Sables in Val d’Isere, France where she finished 18th in the super-G.

In 2007, Berthod had successful back surgery for a herniated disk, but she retired from racing the following year and pursued a career as an ambulance driver in Switzerland. She married her partner Laetitia Calvi, an anesthesiologist at the University Hospital of Lausanne.