Franz Klammer
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| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s Skiing | |||
| Gold | 1976 Innsbruck | Downhill | |
Franz Klammer (born December 3, 1953) is a former Austrian skier who dominated the downhill event throughout much of the mid to late 1970s. He won a gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Klammer was born in Mooswald, Austria, to a farming family. Given the opportunity to take up skiing he became adept very quickly, making his debut in the World Cup skiing competition in 1972 at the age of 19.
[edit] Career
At the 1976 Winter Olympics Klammer won the gold medal in the downhill by 0.33 seconds from defending champion Bernhard Russi, who had gone out before him and set a challenging target. The fact that Klammer was the last of the 15 competitors to go out, meant that his win on the treacherous course was even more remarkable.
Although the overall World Cup title remained elusive (largely because of skiers like Ingemar Stenmark and Klammer's concentration on the downhill). The second speed event, the Super G, was not on the World Cup circuit until December 1982.
Klammer won the World Cup downhill title 5 times — more than anyone else in the history of the sport. His wins were in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1983. The 1975 season was memorable in that he won 8 of 9 World Cup downhill races, including his first of three consecutive victories at the notorious Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel, where he edged Gustav Thöni by one hundredth of a second. Thöni won the overall title four times in the early 1970s, including 1975, but never a downhill race. The Italian was denied by the 21-year-old Klammer by less than a foot (30 cm).
Amazingly, Klammer could not defend his gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics because he did not make the strong Austrian team, which could only enter four racers. At the 1984 Games in Sarajevo, (then Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina), Klammer finished a disappointing tenth place on a non-technical gliding course.
In an interview with Austrian television in 2006, the 52-year-old Franz Klammer was asked about his greatest achievement. He answered that although his gold medal at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck was generally regarded as greatest achievement in his career, winning in Kitzbühel in 1984 meant something very special for him, considering the fact that he had not managed to win this race since his three consecutive victories in 1975-77.
[edit] Legacy
Klammer was a very popular skier, not only in Austria, but in other parts of the world when skiing was developing a large following. He had a variety of nicknames including The Klammer Express and The Austrian Astronaut. He certainly helped promote the sport of skiing and was an exciting draw for television. He retired from skiing in 1985 having won 25 World Cup downhill events.
[edit] References & Links
- KLAMMER. Franz International Who's Who. accessed September 4, 2006.
- FIS-ski.com - Franz Klammer - World Cup results
- Ski-db.com - Franz Klammer - results
| Olympic champions in men's downhill |
|---|
| 1948: Henri Oreiller | 1952: Zeno Colò | 1956: Toni Sailer | 1960: Jean Vuarnet | 1964: Egon Zimmermann | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1972: Bernhard Russi | 1976: Franz Klammer | 1980: Leonhard Stock | 1984: Bill Johnson | 1988: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1992: Patrick Ortlieb | 1994: Tommy Moe | 1998: Jean-Luc Crétier | 2002: Fritz Strobl | 2006: Antoine Dénériaz |
| World Champions in Men's Downhill |
|---|
| 1931: Walter Prager | 1932: Gustav Lantschner | 1933: Walter Prager | 1934: David Zogg | 1935: Franz Zingerle | 1936: Rudolf Rominger | 1937: Emile Allais | 1938: James Couttet | 1939: Hellmut Lantschner | 1948: Henri Oreiller | 1950: Zeno Colò | 1952: Zeno Colò | 1954: Christian Pravda | 1956: Anton Sailer | 1958: Anton Sailer | 1960: Jean Vuarnet | 1962: Karl Schranz | 1964: Egon Zimmermann | 1966: Jean-Claude Killy | 1968: Jean-Claude Killy | 1970: Bernhard Russi | 1972: Bernhard Russi | 1974: David Zwilling | 1976: Franz Klammer | 1978: Josef Walcher | 1980: Leonhard Stock | 1982: Harti Weirather | 1985: Pirmin Zurbriggen | 1987: Peter Müller | 1989: Hans-Jörg Tauscher | 1991: Franz Heinzer | 1993: Urs Lehmann | 1996: Patrick Ortlieb | 1997: Bruno Kernen | 1999: Hermann Maier | 2001: Hannes Trinkl | 2003: Michael Walchhofer | 2005: Bode Miller |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Klammer, Franz |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | downhill skier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 3, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mooswald, Austria |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
