Frieda Dänzer began skiing at a young age and joined the Swiss national team in January 1950. Shortly thereafter, however, she sustained serious injuries in a fall, breaking her tibia and fibula, and was forced to abandon skiing for a year. She eventually recovered and, by 1956, was good enough to win a silver medal in the downhill at that year’s Winter Olympics, behind her teammate Madeleine Chamot-Berthod. Dänzer also finished 10th in the slalom and 11th in the giant slalom. She ended her career on a high note at the 1958 World Championships, where she was victorious in the combined, took silver in the downhill, and captured bronze in the giant slalom. She was Swiss Champion in the downhill in 1954, 1957, and 1958, also winning Swiss titles in the giant slalom, slalom and combined. Dänzer obtained her ski instructors license in 1962 and she and her husband later ran a ski school in Wengen and then Brunnen.
Switzerland