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Marco Meluccio presents
the history of

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ALBERTO TOMBA
The successes and the number of his victories say all about him: one of the greatest champion of any time, if not the greatest. At World Championship Sestriere '97 he added another medal to his already rich palmares and less than a month before he won another competition in Slalom that makes him the only athlete together with Stenmark to have been winning for ten consecutive years in World Cup.
Everything begins in Bologna the 19th of December 1966, Alberto's birth-date. In 1984 he is in national team "C1" and then he becomes a member of the national team "B". In december of 1984 we begin to read his name on the sporting newspapers, because of his victory in the Christmas parallel. But this isn't an important competition and so nobody gives weight to this victory. But during the year a lot of successes in Fis competitions arrive and so also his convocation in national "A". Then he wins three races in Europe Cup and he makes his debut in World Cup. The results arrive soon and so the 21th of February 1986 at Aare (Sweden) he conquests his first points in World Cup with a splendid sixth place in the Slalom. In the season 86/87, having climbed the Fis placings, he begins as a promise and he doesn't deny the expactations: he arrives second in the Giant Slalom of the Alta Badia, the Giant Slalom in which there were three Italians skiers at the three first positions. Then also the first World Championship arrives (at Crans Montana) and it is at once medal: Alberto conquests the bronze in the Giant Slalom. But it is in the season 87/88 that the "Bomb" explodes: he wins his first race in World Cup just at Sestriere with the number 23 (the 27th of November). Two days later he wins another race this time in Giant Slalom, surpassing his idol Ingemar Stenmark (the only time in which they are together on the dais). It is the beginning of a series of victories (nine races in World Cup, six in Slalom and three in Giant Slalom). It is also the year of the great fight with another champion Pirmin Zurbriggen, ended unfortunately in a final sprint in favour of the Swiss. Here is also the first Alberto's Olympic Games: they are at Calgary, where Tomba conquests a splendid double victory, winning in Slalom and in Giant Slalom. It is the 25th of February when Tomba with the number one makes a masterpiece inflicting 1"14 on the second one. In the second run he just controls and he wins his first gold medal. In the Slalom in the first run he is "only" third, but in the second one he closes the gap as will become one of his habits: six hundredths of advantage and it is the second gold medal.
The season 88/89 is not very happy: everyone expects the impossible of him and journalists begin to criticize that he is only placed. At World Championship at Vail then he does't succeed in going further the sixth position in SuperG and the seventh one in Giant Slalom.
In the season 89/90 a staff only for him is made: Gustavo Thoeni together with the athletic preparer Giorgio D'Urbano. But it is an unlucky season: he has an accident in the SuperG, but he proves to be a great champion and he returns winning again in Slalom.
In the season 90/91 the success returns also in Giant Slalom (five victories in the season and Giant Slalom Cup) and the second World Championship arrives, event that seems to be bewitched, seeing that Tomba does't succeed in winning a medal, not going further the fourth place in Slalom.
The season 91/92 is the season of the great fight with the Swiss Paul Accola and Alberto, in spite of his very good form (nine victories), doesn't succeed in winning the General World Cup, success that is missing in his palmares. This is the season of the Olympic Games at Albertville, in which Tomba wins again in Giant Slalom and conquests a silver medal in Slalom with one of his mythical second runs.
In the season 92/93 there is again the World Championship, this time at Morioka, but also this time the event doesn't bring good luck to Tomba (he has the influenza during the Giant Slalom and he pitchforks in the Slalom in the first run).
Then there is another mythical remount in the season (93/94) in the Slalom at the Olympic Games at Lillehammer, when Alberto, twelveth with 1"84 from Stangassinger, arrives second with only 15 hundredths: it is the famous "Tomba effect": when He arrives at the finish line with a great second run, at the start his adversaries tremble with fear and melt like snow under the sun, loosing all their advantage.
In the season 94/95 the General World Cup finally arrives (eleven victories in the season), but the postponement of the World Championship defers the consecration that still misses to Alberto to the next year.
And here is the season 95/96 in which Tomba arrives in a very good form at the World Champonship and he conquests a double victory (gold in Slalom and gold in Giant Slalom) that increases his legend. Also here we see another sensational remount in Slalom: "only sixth" after the first run and with 81 hundredths from Jagge and first after the second with 31 hundredths on super Mario Reiter.
The rest is recent history: the return to the success in Slalom at Schladming, after a difficult period with some accidents. He becomes better and better until the World Championship at Sestriere where everyone expects a new medal of him. There are 30000 fans that have come at Sestriere to support him (I was there too). Unfortunately he goes out in Giant Slalom and people leave the run disappointed. But the time of the ransom arrives on Saturday at the end of the World Championship. After a not perfect first run, with a great second one (in spite of the fever) he conquests another medal.
Another exploit that I like to remember is a Giant Slalom in World Cup in which Alberto arrived 21th after the first run and after in the second he was fouth, giving about a second to everyone in the last ten doors.
For the moment this is all: we hope to be able to continue to write about his victories.

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