Renée Colliard

Having joined the Swiss national alpine skiing team only shortly prior to the Games, Renée Colliard became the surprise winner of the women’s slalom at the 1956 Winter Olympics by a margin of over three seconds. A pharmacy student at the University of Geneva, these Games were her only major success on the international scene, although she was also Swiss national champion in the slalom that same year. She graduated in 1960 and eventually moved to Montana in the canton of Valais, where she and her husband opened up a ski resort and pharmacy.