Francisco Fernández Ochoa

When Francisco Fernández Ochoa won the 1972 Olympic slalom, he became the first Spanish champion at the Winter Olympics. He was in fact the first Spanish Olympic champion since 1928, and the third of all time. His victory came as a major upset, although he had placed in the top 10 at the 1970 World Championships. Fernández’s career only saw one other international victory, winning a slalom World Cup in Zakopane (Poland) in 1974.

That same year, the Spaniard also captured a bronze medal in the World Championships slalom, again the first ever won by his country. Born in a family of eight, four of Francisco’s siblings were also successful alpine skiers and competed in the Olympics: Luis, Juan Manuel, Dolores and Blanca.

In 1992, Blanca followed in her brother’s footsteps, winning Spain’s second Winter Olympic medal. Fernández, who retired in 1980, was the only Olympian ever to carry his country’s flag twice in the same year; in both Sapporo and München, he marched into the stadium carrying the Spanish banner. “Paquito”, as he was commonly known, died of lymphatic cancer at age 56, barely a week after the unveiling of a statue in his honour.