Word: vuarnets
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...Olympic recognition in 1936, and it has become virtually a private French preserve since Coach Honoré Bonnet, 48, a feisty little ex-army officer, took over the team in 1959. Bonnet taught his racers the aerodynamic "oeuf" position that won a gold medal in the downhill for Jean Vuarnet at Squaw Valley in 1960. He dressed them in slick nylon stretch suits instead of baggy trousers and tops, switched them from wood to more maneuverable metal skis, made training an intensive, year-round proposition, stressed strength and speed over the niceties of technique...
...everything-and I like what I'm doing just fine." Last year at the Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, he was considered a strong contender for the slalom but was off form, finishing sixth; in the downhill race, won by Teammate Jean Vuarnet, he did better, winning a bronze medal. One of his problems seemed to be his mental attitude. Admitting that he is "often obsessed by a fear of falling," Périllat grew too tense during "that horrible moment five minutes before the start of a race, when you think that every breath will be your last...
...last April, Périllat was sent to Algeria. But he was back with the first snows as a member of the Alpine troops, trained by Honore Bonnet, who by no coincidence is also coach of the French national ski team. It was Bonnet, along with Olympic Gold Medalist Vuarnet, who developed the "egg position" used by Périllat and the other members of the French team. The position, a sort of high, shoulder-down crouch, is so tiring to main tain that the French team members must take special exercises to build up the quadriceps muscles in their...
...fluttering at high speeds, which slows the skier. As Head walked the slopes seeking pointers on how to improve his product, he saw dramatic proof of the superiority of metal skis. For the first time in Olympic history a gold medal was won by a skier. Frenchman Jean Vuarnet, wearing metal skis, developed especially by a French firm. For Head this was proof that the metal ski will be as good for racing...