Swiss downhill legend Roland Collombin dies at 75 after long cancer battle
Olympic downhill silver medallist Roland Collombin, the flamboyant Swiss racer nicknamed 'La Colombe', died peacefully at his birthplace on Friday aged 75 after overcoming throat cancer only to be struck by liver cancer, his family announced on Instagram.
Roland Collombin, the Swiss downhill racer whose eight World Cup wins, two discipline globes and 1972 Olympic silver made him a national icon, died on 10 July 2026 at 75. His daughter Emmanuelle announced the death on Instagram, saying he passed away at the house where he was born in Val de Bagnes, surrounded by family.
Two-year fight against cancer
Collombin was diagnosed with throat cancer two years ago and overcame it, Le Nouvelliste reported. The disease returned as liver cancer. He underwent surgery in July 2025 and a second operation in September, but the condition proved fatal.
After a long and courageous battle, he has fallen asleep peacefully today.
His family said the former skier died exactly as he wished, in the birth house with his loved ones present.
The athlete and the entertainer
Collombin was the wild counterpart to his teammate Bernhard Russi, the disciplined face of Swiss skiing in the early 1970s. He won all his World Cup races in the downhill discipline, claiming the season globe in 1973 and 1974. His Olympic silver in Sapporo came before he had even reached a World Cup podium, and he later described it as "lost gold" after posting the fastest training times.
I am a fervent adherent of an idle life and would have happily remained a slacker for life. Working as little as possible and getting the most out of it, that was my motto.
Despite that public persona, rival and friend Bernhard Russi was convinced Collombin trained just as hard as anybody else once the cameras were off.
Behind closed doors, Collombin worked just as hard as anybody else.
A life at full speed, on and off the slope
The son of an Italian mother and a Valaisan father, Collombin never hid his taste for late nights. At the Sapporo Games, police briefly jailed him after a drinking spree with hockey player Jacques Pousaz turned rowdy. He later admitted that at least two of his World Cup victories followed all-night parties or romantic encounters that ended only in the race-day morning.
His nickname La Colombe (the dove) belied a career marked by nerve. He valued his 1974 Wengen win, the first by a Swiss man in 20 years, and his back-to-back Kitzbühel triumphs in 1973 and 1974 above all other results.
Career cut short by injury
At the end of 1974, Collombin sprained his spine in a fall at Val d'Isère and was sidelined for a year. When he returned to the same spot on the Oreiller-Killy piste a year later, he crashed again, breaking two vertebrae. The accident forced him into retirement at 24. The jump where he fell became known as the Bosse à Collombin (Collombin bump), a permanent mark of a career that burned bright but briefly.
- Wins Olympic downhill silver behind Bernhard Russi.
- Claims first downhill discipline globe and first World Cup victories.
- Secures second downhill globe, wins in Wengen and Kitzbühel.
- Sprains spine after a fall in Val d'Isère, sidelined for a year.
- Crashes at same Val d'Isère spot, breaks two vertebrae, career ends at 24.
All of Collombin's successes were condensed into just over two years, a burst that began in 1972 and ended with his back injuries in 1975. Swiss media described him as 'the wildest successful ski racer Switzerland ever produced' and compared his rebellious streak to John McEnroe.
