Career
Born in Corrençon-en-Vercors, Isère, she became a member of the Villard-de-Lans ski club in Grenoble. In 1994 and 1998, finished 14th in the Super-G at the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer and Nagano respectively.
In January 2002 Montillet was chosen by the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français to be the flag bearer for the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City.
Her victory in the downhill ski event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City was her first major triumph. It was also the first gold medal won by a Frenchwoman in Alpine Skiing since Marielle Goitschel's triumph in the women's slalom event in Grenoble in 1968. She dedicated this to her former teammate Régine Cavagnoud, who was killed in a training accident in 2001.
Her achievements were more remarkable because she has suffered multiple serious injuries early in her career, such as torn knee ligaments.
On February 13, 2006, while training for the downhill race at the 2006 Winter Olympics, Montillet-Carles crashed and was evacuated by helicopter to a nearby hospital. She suffered rib, back and facial injuries, but she decided to compete in the downhill race and eventually finished in 28th position. Several racers had complained that the downhill course was too easy, and Olympic organizers had made several changes to it. She finished in 5th place in the Super-G five days later.
She retired at the end of the 2005–2006 season.
Read more about this topic: Carole Montillet
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