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Heroine & Haymaker. Sturdy (5 ft. 7 in., 141 Ibs.), freckled, blithely irreverent, Marielle has been called "La Zazie of the Snow"—after the irrepressible heroine of Zazie dans le Métro, a bestselling novel and movie. Frenchmen are still chuckling over the Austrian cop who got into an argument with her coach, Henri Bonnet, at Innsbruck last year; Marielle uncorked a haymaker square on the point of his chin. And then there was the unnerving experience of Premier Georges Pompidou, who lunched with Marielle after the Olympics. Mlle. Goitschel started things off by making the V for Victory sign, bellowing "Vive le ski! Vive la France!" and singing a chorus of La Marseillaise. Then she announced that she was engaged to be married. "To whom?" the Premier inquired politely. Said Marielle, blowing a kiss: "To you!" Later, she confided to admiring newsmen that "I like Pompidou, but I prefer De Gaulle."
She likes to drive fast cars ("The M.G. is a fine auto, and besides, it has the right initials"), bedevil teammates with practical jokes, and regale strangers with her schoolgirl knowledge of geography. "What state are you from?" she once demanded of an American passerby on the street in France. "New Jersey," he replied. "Ah," intoned Marielle. "The capital of New Jersey is Trenton." She breaks training for an occasional cigarette or a glass of wine, and already is making plans for a round-the-world trip when she "retires" —after the 1968 Olympics. "I want to make way for youth," says Marielle. "Of course, I'll only be 22½ years old then myself."