BORMIO, Italy -- Long before the free-spirited Bode Miller, there was David Chappellet, a driven, do-things-my-way downhill racer representing the U.S.ski team.Sure, Chappellet's story was make-believe and straight out out Hollywood, a brash prospect played by the late actor Robert Redford coming out of nowhere (Idaho Springs, Colorado) to fill in for an injured teammate and becoming an Olympic champion.
But decades later, the character from the 1969 film “Downhill Racer" still resonates.To this day, Redford's Chappellet serves as a badge of honor for American downhillers, the personification of their ethos and underdog status in a Europe-centric sport.
The movie stands up, too, due to its gritty camerawork and picturesque scenery, which includes visits to venues on the World Cup circuit like Kitzbühel, Austria, and Wengen, Switzerland.“The movie encapsulates the pursuit of excellence that we’re trying to accomplish and it exudes such an aura around what we do,” explained U.S.
racer River Radamus, who’s competing in his second Olympics at the Milan Cortina Games.“I love that movie.
That’s part of why I wanted to do what I do today.”The film — directed by Michael Ritchie of “Fletch” and “The Bad News Bears” notoriety – was based on a book by Oakley Hall.It featured the relationship between two characters played by Oscar-winning stars: Redford, a loner who plays by his rules to become a champion, and Gene Hackman, his locked-in U.S.
ski coach.It was a celebrated part for the actors, who both died in 2025.Redford's character may have been an amalgamation of several U.S.
ski team personalities.Maybe a little Billy Kidd after he and teammate Jimmie Heuga became the first American men to capture Olympic medals in Alpine skiing in 1964.
Maybe a dose of the charismatic Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, who was shot and killed by his girlfriend in 1976.Maybe even some Wallace “Buddy” Werner, who died in an avalanche in 1964 at 28.
This wa...