 He also was the first to race on metal skis (skis métalliques Rossignol), on which he won the downhill at the 1960 Winter Olympics.The tenth racer on the course, he won by a full half-second.After retiring from active competition, Vuarnet became head of the Italian alpine ski team from 1968 to 1972, and vice-president of the French skiing association, a role in which he served from 1972 to 1974.