The Crown in Skiing

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The Crown in Skiing Rolex and skiing – a story of passion dating back to 1968, when French skier Jean-Claude Killy became a Rolex Testimonee after his triple medal win at the Olympic Games. The association that developed between the brand and this exceptional athlete has gone from strength to strength.

For a long time, the Olympic medallist was the only – but so emblematic – link between the brand and skiing, embodying, through his enthusiastic hard work and ceaseless quest for perfection, cardinal values that are also those of Rolex. Now, another legend in alpine skiing, Austrian Hermann Maier, has taken up the torch. A Testimonee since 2007 with an impressive number of victories to his name, he is also a champion who perfectly exemplifies the spirit of Rolex.

Determination, precision and perseverance – qualities that, for Rolex, constitute fundamental

principles and which are essential for a top skier. The links between the brand and skiing are not due to chance. By its association with this elite sport, whose ideals it shares, Rolex asserts its attachment to a philosophy in which performance means excellence. It is not surprising, therefore, that the brand supports the most widely known leg of the Alpine Skiing World Cup: the Hahnenkamm Races in Kitzbühel, Austria. Captivated by this event, which marks the high point of the ski season, Rolex became its Official Timekeeper in 2007. More than a sponsor, Rolex is a true partner, contributing year after year to the prestige of the competition.

Since 2010, three new rising stars in alpine skiing – Switzerland’s Lara Gut and Carlo Janka together with American Lindsey Vonn – perpetuate in turn the relationship that began in 1968 between Rolex and skiing.

The brand, which has chosen them as Testimonees, is with them at every turn as they collect honours in races around the world. More than ever, Rolex celebrates skiing and the sport’s greatest talents.

Jean-Claude Killy Jean-Claude Killy is a name that has echoed throughout the decades of ski racing history. Born in August 1943 in Saint Cloud, France, Killy dominated the alpine ski racing scene of the late 1960s and is a triple Olympic Champion. Killy is known for having won the first two World Cup titles in 1967 and 1968. His dominance was assured, but Killy was looking for more. He found his calling at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble and the results will carry on his name for the rest of time: a triple sweep of the gold medals in all available events (Downhill, Giant

Slalom and Slalom), a feat which has yet to be repeated since Killy proved it possible.

Killy retired from the racing scene at the age of only 24, following his wildly successful 1968 season, yet has remained an important personality in the industry. Killy became a successful businessman and the Organising Committee President of the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville. Today, Jean-Claude Killy is an active and respected Executive Member of the International Olympic Committee.

Hermann Maier Hermann Maier is one of ski racing’s greatest legends and his charisma is only matched by his success. To have only started racing on the World Cup at 24 and yet won so many races underlines the true strength and power of this Austrian skier. He has scored over 2,000 World Cup points in a single season and has won races by margins deemed impossible. To win one World Cup race is a great achievement, to win thirteen World Cup races in one season, a record in itself, is what makes greatness.

Born in December 1972 and now retired from racing, Maier is still the skier by which many aspiring racers gauge their results. This is

the man who won four Overall World Cup Titles (1998, 2000, 2001 & 2004), the Downhill title twice, Super G title five times and Giant Slalom title three times. Maier’s career brought him ten medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships, as well as 54 World Cup wins. In Kitzbßhel, he can claim five wins and a second out of seven starts, not to mention the unmistakable roar of the crowd on Super G Friday as his signature yellow helmet would appear on the slope. There was also the Nagano Olympics, that fall and the fact that he got up to win Gold in the next race: this is the sort of thing that super heroes are made of. Man

and his skis against the mountain is what racing is all about, and as Hermann Maier knows, it is not for the feint of heart.

Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Vonn is the most successful American female ski racer in history, with more titles to her name than number of years. Born in October 1984 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Vonn is the only American woman to have captured Olympic Downhill gold and to have won three Overall World Cup titles. She has won across all disciplines, and with her 33rd World Cup win in February 2010 coming in the Super G in Garmisch, Vonn surpassed even Bode Miller for most World Cup victories by a U.S. skier, a record she works very hard to maintain. “If you had asked me at the beginning of the season

if I’d have been able to not only win Olympic medals but defend my World Cup titles and add the combined, I would have said ‘not likely.’ I am incredibly happy and proud of those accomplishments,” said Vonn. “The U.S. is definitely a major force on the World Cup and in the Olympics and I’m really looking forward to next season and the World Championships.”

Winner of the 2010 ESPY (ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) for Best Female Athlete, the highest female honour in sports, and for Best Female Olympic Athlete, Vonn has fixed her sights

firmly on the upcoming season, where she plans to defend her World Cup and World Championship titles.

Known for her intense commitment to physical preparation, usually hitting the gym at 6am daily, she has worked incredibly hard to become the star athlete that she is today.

This season, all eyes are on Lindsey Vonn, and she is determined to make history with every start.

For more about Lindsey Vonn, including results, please visit: www.lindseyvonn.com

Gut has never been satisfied with anything but first, and in December of the same year, at the same venue, she returned to win her first Super-G World Cup race, finishing 0.63 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. This victory made Lara Gut the youngest skier ever to win a Super G World Cup event.

Gut went on to win silver in the Downhill and silver in the Super Combined at the Worlds at Val d’Isère, France, in 2009. While a hip injury in September put her out of the 2009 – 2010 season, and thus the 2010 Olympic Games, Gut has been on the road to recovery and is back

on the World Cup circuit for 2010 – 2011. “I run wild, and fast,” Gut says.

“It has to be 100 km/h! Always!” All eyes will be on this promising young star as she continues to make her way to the top.

For more about Lara Gut, including results, please visit: www.laragut.ch

Lara Gut Lara Gut is one of brightest rising stars on the alpine ski circuit today.

Born in April 1991, in Sorengo, Ticino, this young Swiss skier says her story is, for now, “fairly short and simple, based on fun, passion and desire, without forgetting a united family, ready to follow a dream.” Gut had already taken the ski community by storm when she became the second youngest Swiss National Champion ever in 2007 and made her World Cup debut that same year in Lienz, Austria.

In 2008, at her first World Cup downhill race in St. Moritz, she finished third on the podium. But

Carlo Janka Carlo Janka may not be the youngest member of the Swiss team, but his repeated brilliant performances on the slopes show he is right on track and rising to the top.

Born in October 1986 in Obersaxen, Switzerland, Janka has already begun racking up the achievements: gold in the Giant Slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, gold in Giant Slalom and bronze in Downhill at the World Ski Championships 2009 (Val d’Isère), the Super Combined World Cup trophy in 2008/09 and the Overall World Cup trophy for 2009/10... Janka shows no signs of slowing.

Carlo Janka has been closely watched by fans, media and the competition, particularly since he won three World Cup disciplines in a single weekend (Beaver Creek, Dec 09), a feat only duplicated by Aksel Lund Svindal in 2007, Hermann Maier at the same venue ten years earlier and ski hero Jean-Claude Killy in 1967 at Franconia. Janka is the fourth Swiss racer to have won the Overall World Cup, a title he confirmed when he won both the Downhill and Giant Slalom in Garmisch (GER) with one race left in the season, giving him an unbeatable lead of 106 points over his nearest opponent.

Fondly nicknamed “iceman”, Janka is known for always maintaining his cool, whether in the face of frustration or success. Known for his calm and collected mental strength, along with his controlled style on the snow, Janka is ready for the 2010/11 season to showcase his many talents. While his understated technique may mask his true speed, the clock doesn’t lie. Carlo Janka has quickly earned his place at the top and this is one skier determined to seize his future.

For more about Carlo Janka, including results, please visit: www.carlo-janka.ch

Hahnenkamm-Race

Kitzbühel

What Wimbledon is to tennis and Monaco is to Formula 1, Kitzbühel is to ski racing: ultimate and unique. The Hahnenkamm-Race is a cornerstone in the annual ski-racing calendar and Kitzbühel’s Streif is considered to be one of the most challenging and fearsome downhill slopes in the world. From the breathtaking start at 1665 metres (5465 feet) above sea level, racers plunge down the slope’s vertical drop of 860m (2822 ft) at speeds up to 150 km/h (93mph), before dramatically crossing the finish line in the spectator-packed finish area.

Young and old unite every January

to enjoy this unparalleled spectacle, one of the world’s greatest mountain performances, which embraces all nations. Rolex has been the Official Timekeeper of the HahnenkammRace Kitzbühel since 2007.

www.hahnenkammnews.com for more information and a range of multimedia material, including high-quality photography.

International Media Information Anna Maria Gregorini Email: anna-maria@kpms.com

Key Partners (KPMS) 20, Avenue Edouard-Dubois CH – 2000 Neuchâtel Switzerland T. +41 32 724 28 29 E. info@hahnenkammnews.com W. www.hahnenkammnews.com

Media Services

PROVIDED ON-SITE AND YEAR-ROUND – multi-lingual support – high-resolution photography, copyright-free for editorial use in print media – professionally staffed and fullyequipped event media centre

– assistance with individual photo requests – assistance with race course/event information, interviews and press conferences – audio and video information

Exclusive opportunities for media on-site

Hahnenkamm by Night, Zielhaus Finish, Weisswurst Party* – Watch the finish of the races from the Zielhaus VIP area for a spectacular view.

– Celebrate the classic Kitzbühel “Weisswurst Party,” held at the 400-year old wooden Stanglwirt BioHotel, with access to the Rolex VIP lounge.

– Experience the Starthaus and final preparations of the slope the night before the Super-G with a personal guide provided by Kitzbüheler Ski Club (K.S.C.); dependant on weather.

*(dependant on availability)

the

classic

watch

No other watch is engineered quite like a Rolex. The Datejust, introduced in 1945, was the first wristwatch to display the date through an aperture on the dial. Its unique magnifying Cyclops eye, added a few years later, became recognised as a Rolex design standard. Now in a larger, more distinguished 41 mm size, the Datejust II is a natural evolution of a classic. The Datejust II is presented here in Rolex signature Rolesor, a unique combination of 904L steel and 18 ct yellow gold.

the date just ii