Cinto Sertorelli

Born into a family of great sporting tradition, Cinto Sertorelli was a brilliant downhill skier, but also an excellent cross-country skier and jumper. He decided to focus on Alpine events in 1934. He immediately achieved success, with a downhill second place at the 1936 World Championships in Innsbruck. He repeated that finish at the 1937 Worlds in Chamonix. From 1934-37 one of the few times he was off the podium was at the Olympic combined event, placing seventh.

On 26 January 1938, in a downhill race at Garmisch-Partenkirchen Sertorelli fell on a seriously deteriorated track, colliding with a tree. He died two days later. The heir to the Italian throne, Umberto II of Savoia, attended his funeral.