Urs Imboden

Imboden started competing in international alpine skiing events in 1994 representing Switzerland.^[3][4] He achieved his first podium in the slalom event at the FIS championships held at Grindelwald in Switzerland in January 1997.^[5] Subsequently, he registered first place finishes in three FIS championship events held at Chateau d'Ox,^[6] Villars,^[7] and Lenzerheide in Switzerland in March-April of the same year.^[8] He continued to represent Switzerland in various FIS competitions including the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and European Cup tournaments.^[3]

In January 2001, Imboden took part in his first FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.^[3] He was named in the Swiss team for the 2002 Winter Olympics held at Salt Lake City.^[9] He achieved a fifth-place finish in the slalom event at the Olympics.^[10] He completed his first run in 49.61 seconds, and his second run in 52.87 seconds. With a combined time of 1:42.48, he finished 1.42 seconds behind gold medal winner Jean-Pierre Vidal.^[11] He continued competing in various FIS events after the Olympics, earning multiple medals including a first place finish at the 2002 European Cup.^[3]

In 2006, after a series of declining results he lost his place in the Swiss team.^[12][13] In February 2007, Imboden competed in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships representing Moldova.^[14] Imboden was named to the Moldovan team for the 2010 Winter Olympics held at Vancouver.^[9] He failed to finish the first run of the slalom event at the Olympics.^[15][16] In April 2011, Imboden announced his retirement after the governing body FIS amended the rules governing the nationality of the participants. He planned to take up coaching in his native Switzerland.^[12]

• Urs Imboden at FIS (alpine)
• Urs Imboden at Olympedia