Estelle Erika Ainee Alphand (born 23 April 1995) is a French-born Swedish alpine skier, who competes in all events. She was born in Briançon, France, and she is the daughter of the former alpine skier and rally driver Luc Alphand. She has represented Sweden since the start of the 2018 season, having previously competed for France.

Estelle Alphand
Estelle Alphand in Ushuaia, Argentina in October 2011
Personal information
Born (1995-04-23) 23 April 1995 (age 29)
Briançon, France
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesSlalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill
ClubÅre SLK
World Cup debut9 March 2013 (age 17)
Olympics
Teams1 – (2018)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams1 – (2021)
Medals1 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons12 – (20132024)
Wins0
Podiums0
Medal record
Women's alpine skiing
Representing  France
Youth Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2012 Innsbruck Super-G
Silver medal – second place 2012 Innsbruck Giant Slalom
Silver medal – second place 2012 Innsbruck Alpine Combined
Representing  Sweden
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Cortina d’Ampezzo Team event

Biography

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Alphand, whose mother Anna-Karin is Swedish, took part in her first FIS races aged 15. In January 2011 she won her first competition on this level: an alpine combined in Tignes, France. A month later she competed at the World Junior Championships for the first time. In February 2011 she entered the European Cup. Her first season was concluded with Alphand becoming French junior champion in slalom. At the first Youth Winter Olympic Games in February 2012 in Innsbruck, Alphand won three medals: gold in super-G, and silver in both giant slalom and super combined.

During the following two winters, Alphand mostly competed in the European cup, where she first appeared on the podium after a super combined in Kvitfjell in December 2012. Her first appearance in the World Cup was in a giant slalom in Ofterschwang in March 2013. Her best result in the World Junior Championships was when she finished in 4th place in the downhill in Lillehammer in 2015. Alphand won her first World Cup points on 24 November 2015, finishing 21st in a giant slalom in Aspen.

During the 2016–2017 season Alphand reached World Cup points only once, after which she fell out of the French national team. She then asked the French federation to allow her to compete for Sweden instead. After short negotiations, she left France and has been a member of the Swedish team since the 2018 season.[1] Changing teams proved to be a good decision and Alphand soon advanced to starting positions at top-30 in both slalom and giant slalom. On 28 December 2017 she was 5th in the World Cup slalom of Lienz, and thereby reached her best World Cup finish.

While representing Sweden at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2021, she was part of the Swedish team that earned a silver medal in the combined men's and women's team competition.[2]

Season standings

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Season
Age Overall Slalom Giant
Slalom
Super-G Downhill Combined
2016 20 98 41
2017 21 114 46
2018 22 33 21 19
2019 23 102 45
2020 24 114 43 20
2021 25 100 53 47
2022 26 79 34
Standings through 17 June 2022

World Championship results

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Season
Age Slalom Giant
Slalom
Super-G Downhill Combined Parallel Team Event
2021 25 24 31 DNF 13 2

Olympic results

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Season
Age Slalom Giant
Slalom
Super-G Downhill Combined
2018 22 DNF 16

References

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  1. ^ Laurent Davier (2 June 2017). "Estelle Alphand va skier pour la Suède" (in French). Ski Chrono. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  2. ^ Thomas Lindblom, Therese Bosta (17 February 2021). "Den svenska silverglädjen" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
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