Werner was selected for the U.S. Olympic Team three times: 1956, 1960, & 1964.
While still a teenager, he placed eleventh in the downhill in 1956 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and was the only American to finish.
His best chance to medal was in 1960 at Squaw Valley, but he broke his right leg while slalom training in Aspen in December 1959, just two months before the games.

Eleven months earlier at age 22, he was the first from outside Austria and Switzerland to win the famed Hahnenkamm downhill race in Kitzbühel, Austria.
 The only American to win since was Daron Rahlves in 2003, on a fog-shortened course.
Three Canadians, Ken Read, Steve Podborski, and Todd Brooker, have won the race, and American A. J. Kitt was a runner-up in 1992.

Werner finished in fourth in the slalom at the 1958 World Championships in Austria at Bad Gastein.
He took fifth in the giant slalom, and was challenging Toni Sailer for the combined title with only the downhill event remaining.
In contention for a medal in the downhill, Werner fell a few seconds before the finish.
He lost a ski and a pole and eventually crossed the finish line, but was fourteen seconds back in a distant 37th place, which knocked him down to seventh in the combined standings. (
From 1954 through 1980, the combined event at the world championships was a "paper race" which used the results of the three events, a pseudo-"overall" title.)
After missing the 1960 Winter Olympics, Werner returned to the world championships in 1962 at Chamonix, France.
He again finished fifth in the giant slalom and also eighth in the downhill, but did not finish the second run of slalom, which knocked him out of the combined.
A few weeks earlier, he won the Lauberhorn combined event at Wengen, Switzerland.

At the 1964 Olympics at Innsbruck, Werner placed eighth in the slalom at Axamer Lizum, behind teammates  [[Billy Kidd] silver medalist( and Jimmie Heuga the bronze, and 17th in the downhill at Patscherkofel.
Although Werner never won an Olympic or World Championship medal, he is considered the first world-class ski racer from the U.S. and excelled in all three alpine disciplines.
Werner was selected for the U.S. Olympic Team three times: 1956, 1960, & 1964. While still a teenager, he placed eleventh in the downhill in 1956 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and was the only American to finish. His best chance to medal was in 1960 at Squaw Valley, but he broke his right leg while slalom training in Aspen in December 1959, just two months before the games.
Eleven months earlier at age 22, he was the first from outside Austria and Switzerland to win the famed Hahnenkamm downhill race in Kitzbühel, Austria.  The only American to win since was Daron Rahlves in 2003, on a fog-shortened course. Three Canadians, Ken Read, Steve Podborski, and Todd Brooker, have won the race, and American A. J. Kitt was a runner-up in 1992.
Werner finished in fourth in the slalom at the 1958 World Championships in Austria at Bad Gastein. He took fifth in the giant slalom, and was challenging Toni Sailer for the combined title with only the downhill event remaining. In contention for a medal in the downhill, Werner fell a few seconds before the finish. He lost a ski and a pole and eventually crossed the finish line, but was fourteen seconds back in a distant 37th place, which knocked him down to seventh in the combined standings. (From 1954 through 1980, the combined event at the world championships was a "paper race" which used the results of the three events, a pseudo-"overall" title.) After missing the 1960 Winter Olympics, Werner returned to the world championships in 1962 at Chamonix, France. He again finished fifth in the giant slalom and also eighth in the downhill, but did not finish the second run of slalom, which knocked him out of the combined. A few weeks earlier, he won the Lauberhorn combined event at Wengen, Switzerland.
At the 1964 Olympics at Innsbruck, Werner placed eighth in the slalom at Axamer Lizum, behind teammates  [[Billy Kidd] silver medalist( and Jimmie Heuga the bronze, and 17th in the downhill at Patscherkofel. Although Werner never won an Olympic or World Championship medal, he is considered the first world-class ski racer from the U.S. and excelled in all three alpine disciplines.
Buddy Werner