Pamela Behr

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Pamela Behr
Personal information
Born (1956-09-21) September 21, 1956 (age 67)
Hindelang, West Germany
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[2]
Skiing career
DisciplinesSlalom, giant slalom,
Downhill, Combined
World Cup debut1971 (age 14)[1]
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
Medal record
Women's alpine skiing
Representing  West Germany
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1978 Garmisch Slalom

Pamela Behr (born September 21, 1956 in Hindelang, 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.[1][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.

Skiing career[edit]

Behr made her debut on the World Cup circuit at the age of 14 in the 1971 season[1] 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.[2] 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[edit]

Season Date Location Discipline Place Age
1972 March 17, 1972 France Pra-Loup Slalom 2nd 15 years, 178 days
1973 December 9, 1972 France Val d'Isere Slalom 1st 16 years, 79 days
January 2, 1973 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Maribor Slalom 2nd 16 years, 103 days
1976 December 17, 1975 Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo Slalom 2nd 19 years, 87 days
1977 January 19, 1977 Austria Schruns Slalom 3rd 20 years, 120 days

World Championships medals[edit]

Season Date Location Discipline Place Age
1978 February 3, 1978 West Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen Slalom Silver 21 years, 135 days

Personal life[edit]

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[edit]

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

External links[edit]