Thöni was born in the German-speaking province of South Tyrol, in the hamlet of Trafoi of the Stilfs municipality, which is situated on the northern ramp of the Stelvio Pass.

[3] Ranked among the greatest Italian skiers ever, Thöni won three Olympic medals and a total of four overall World Cup titles in five years in the early 1970s.

The four titles are an achievement he shares with Pirmin Zurbriggen and Hermann Maier, exceeded by Marcel Hirscher's eight and Marc Girardelli's five.

After more than two minutes on the classic Streif course, he lost to the up-and-coming Austrian legend Franz Klammer by just one-hundredth of a second, a distance of about 25 cm (10 in) at 130 km/h (80 mph).

He won the final race of the season, a parallel slalom ("pro-style" heats) the following week in Val Gardena, Italy, against his challenger Stenmark to secure the overall title.

As the torch had been passed on to the two top finishers, Stenmark and American Phil Mahre, Thöni retired from World Cup competition a month later in March 1980 at the age of 29.

[9] Thöni was the Italian flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and at the closing of the 2006 Winter Games in Torino.