Race bib Olympic Rings St. Moritz

Olympic Rings St. Moritz race bib.
With four fastening tabs.
Measurements: 23.5 x 18.5 cm.

These Winter Games of St. Moritz, celebrated after the Olympic resumption after the war, marked the return of the competition in a context favored by the organizational experience of 1928 and the neutrality of Switzerland. The French alpine skier Henri Oreiller, originally from Val d'Isère, stood out in them, becoming the great figure for France by winning three of his five medals, including the only two gold medals. He won both the downhill and the combined and completed his feat with a bronze in the slalom, all at the age of less than 23. Bold in character and competitive in spirit, Oreiller fully embodied the values of the sport. He later dedicated himself to motor racing, a discipline in which he would lose his life in 1962 at the age of 36. During those Games he wore a large-format bib like the one evoked here. Considered a reference figure for later generations, he was a major influence on Jean-Claude Killy; in Val d'Isère, a red track is named after them both: the famous "OK", the scene of men's downhill races.