Stenmark's coach

Jean-Pierre Chatellard, who coached Ingemar Stenmark for decade, died September 23 at his home Chimney Rock, Colorado, after a year-long fight with cancer. He was 73.

(Photo above: J.P. Chatellard with Stig Strand at Tarnaby, 1983)

Born and raised in Megève, he Chatellard became a slalom coach for Georges Joubert’s French team until resigning early in 1974 in part because of “L’affaire Val d’Isère” (see “The Great French Ski Controversy,” by John Fry, in the July/August 2016 issue of Skiing History). He promptly joined the Swedish team, where 17-year-old Ingemar Stenmark had just won his first World Cup victories.

Ten years later, Chatellard joined the U.S. Ski Team, where he shared technical-event coaching duties with George Capaul. Back in France in 1989, he coached the Megève ski club and wrote for the magazine Ski Francais. After retiring, he settled in Colorado.