Speaker of the day: Fränziy Aufdenblatten — Economy and Finance

Fränzi Aufdenblatten is a Swiss alpine skier specializing in super-G and downhill. She was born on February 10, 1981, in Zermatt, where her parents named her Franziska.
At the age of 15, she started her first races and participated in the Junior World Championships and the European Cup for the next 3 years. In 1999, at 18, she placed fifth in downhill at the Junior World Championships in Pra Loup (France). The downhill suited her well: she was also third in the Swiss Championships that same year. The public began to take an interest in this promising and likeable young skier who always seemed to be smiling.
In 2000, in Canada, she won the downhill at the Junior World Championships.
In the same year, the Valais skier participated for the first time in a World Cup event: an Italian giant slalom (Sestrières) which left her with a bitter taste, as Fränzi did not finish the race. But the young skier did not get discouraged so easily and constantly strived to improve: in 2001, in Verbier, in her home canton, she became junior world champion in downhill.

After two World Cup races at the start of the 2001-2002 season, Fränzi made her appearance in the World Cup top 10, placing sixth in the giant slalom in Berchtesgaden (Germany) and following up with a fifth place in Åre. Her first World Cup podium came in 2003: in Austria, in Haus im Ennstal, she placed third in downhill. 2007 marked a new turning point in her career: this year, she achieved her best result at the World Championships.

In 2009, against Nadia Styger, Fränzi won the World Cup in the super-G in Val-d'Isère. But in 2010, during a giant slalom in Italy, she fell and injured her knee. She was then forced to withdraw from the Vancouver Olympics. The road to recovery was tough: the 2010-2011 season would be a season without a top 10 for her. But that didn't prevent her from returning to form in 2012 by placing fourth.

In 2014, the Sochi Games would be her last and best Olympic participation: Fränzi Aufdenblatten placed sixth in the super-G. It was after finishing third in a World Cup race in 2014 that the Swiss skier decided to end her beautiful career that had given her so much joy. Her passion for skiing has not faded: she continues to lend a hand at the Zermatt ski school.Languages spoken by the speaker

• French
• German / Swiss-German

Fränzi Aufdenblatten offers conferences throughout Switzerland, for both French-speaking and German-speaking Swiss. With UnoMe, the Swiss Speaker's Bureau, you can benefit from Fränzi Aufdenblatten's conferences. The achievements of Fränzi Aufdenblatten are impressive.

She will surely remember her two gold medals at the Verbier World Championships in 2001 and in Canada in 2000 as superb memories, but her numerous participations in major competitions make her a seasoned athlete and a fascinating speaker.