NEW YORK - Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford has died. Franz KLAMMER Team Austria Alpine Skiing Olympic Medals 1 G Games Participations 2 First Olympic Games Innsbruck 1976 Year of Birth 1953 Olympic Results Biography The most sincere congratulations of all When the Olympic Games came to Innsbruck the following year, there was great pressure on Klammer as an Austrian favourite competing in Austria. In an interview with Austrian television in 2006, the 52-year-old Klammer was asked about his greatest achievement. School playgrounds were quiet and the capital of Vienna was empty. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Im extremely happy. The second speed event, the Super-G, was not a World Cup event until December 1982, at the twilight of Klammer's World Cup career. Klammer won the World Cup downhill title five times: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1983 twice more than the next best downhiller. I mean, I had to come off some of the rollers, the knolls, on the tails, flying up in the air, arms out you know, just out of control, going through the pine boughs, cutting back straight to a gate, towards a fence and then redirect that. Alongside the ski track outside Innsbruck, 60,000 fans lined the piste. Now the snow has arrived to give today's heroes a chance to shine on a. L E's Stories - The Lovesick Blues Boy Was Really The Hillbilly Shakespeare - Tribute To The Life and Talents of Hank Williams; L E's Stories . Franz Klammer won the Downhill skiing event in 4 consecutive World Cup seasons from 1975 to 1978. The man to beat was the Swiss competitor Bernhard Russi, title-holder after his victory at the Sapporo Games in 1972 and who intended to retain his sceptre. 2-The Thrilla In Manila- Ali V Frazier III 3. As I approached it, I made a last-second decision to go for it instead of following my usual rounder line. Kids call the Jamaican . Two years later, bothTomba and Witt competed again at Lillehammer. This success means a lot to me after all those years, she told reporters at the post-race press conference that I was running in the modest base lodge of the resort. Russi was selected to design the course by Jean-Claude Killy, co-president of the 1992 Olympic organizing committee, who used to ski on that part of the Bellevarde slope as a kid. In 1975 and 1976 he was the best downhill skier in the world. And Schmied and Schmidt hit it out of the park. And there was only one leftit was Franz Klammer. Russi continued; Franz Klammer was in the starting gate. Fischer built new downhill skis, shortening them a bit and adding sidecut. He also called other sports. Many still call it the greatest downhill of all time. He is out, he cant make it shouted triple Olympic champion Toni Sailer, alpine director of the Austrian team, after seeing Franz fly high into the air off the Ochsenschlag jump in the upper part of the run. Hermann Maier. Hes let his skis do the talking over the years and has won a place in the hearts of Austrians well, to a degree. Klammer seemed doomed. Hes loved by everybody and he had an amazing career. He just went down the straight line which normally everybody said its just impossible, you cant stand this. When Klammers time at the starting gate came he knew exactly what needed to be done. Two days after that frightening accident, he was facing the press to confirm his intention to race the following day in Super G. It was quite a flightfor sure not as comfortable as our journey over here with Lufthansa, he said with a grin. For nearly a half-century, the story of the country boy finding gold has begged for the silver screen. His home village did not have any ski lifts, so as a child he climbed up the pasture behind his house to ski downhill. Ironically, it wasnt his first visit to the little-used speed course on Patscherkofel. We discuss out recent trip to Innsbruck, Austria along with Patricia Frommer (Frommers.com, Frommer Guides) who adds her perspective. But repeated attempts have failed. Pepi Fischer was omnipresent, pushing hard to force Klammer to use his new ski. Austrian great Franz Klammer says the winner of the men's downhill in . She fought for her rights, yet lost focus and energy during the intense political battle. He was paired with Frank Gifford to call one of the Winter Olympics' most famous ski races for ABC - Austrian great Franz Klammer's electric downhill run to capture gold in 1976. First off, Patscherkofel was quite a placid downhill run compared to the Hahnenkamm. When casting ski racing doubles for Klammer, Salmina turned to his longtime friend Rahlves. Born: Dec. 3, 1958 (Mooswald, Carinthia, Austria) placing third in a race won by another experienced competitor, Jean-Luc Cretier . But the most important week in my life! [citation needed], Inspired by his younger brother Klaus, who was paralysed from the waist down after a crash in a downhill at the age of 16,[1] Klammer has established the Franz Klammer Foundation, which benefits seriously injured athletes.[6]. Bobsleigh. The other favorites were not as gutsy or crazy. Pochlatko tracked down the director to talk about his engagement in telling Franz story. I was kicking in her belly because my mother was so excited the whole time.. The love story proved to be a real one, focusing on the role of Klammers now wife of 42 years, Eva. Plus historical audio featuring ABC sportscaster Frank Gifford on the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics and the gold medal Franz Klammer downhill run that inspired this trip. The new downhill skis produced ad hoc for the Albertville course were shorter and narrower at the middle. Well let Bernhard Russi describe; I was down number three and was leading and one after another came down and I was still leading, still leading, still leading, still leading. Posted by: DeusxMac Date: July 21, 2021 08:38PM For days everyone talked about that thrilling ski run. The story of Franz Klammer is the story of ski racing in Carinthia. The downhill was to be run down the face of Patscherkofel, one of the premier downhill tracks in the world. The fear of many was that the remarkable success of the Austrian ski racer would get passed by over the generations. [] 3. So he reached out to fellow Austrian filmmaker Gerald Salmina, producer of the 2014 film Streif: One Hell of a Ride, to manage second unit shooting at Patscherkofel last February. The hardest thing was when I first ran the course to try and get it all figured out, laughed Rahlves. I thought, Franz is the most famous Carinthian and we should do something with him, said Kresse. Above: Maier on the GS course in Nagano. Chasing the Line. They shared an embrace, some laughs and watched a film that showcased the sport that formed the DNA of their lives on snow. I thought, thats a fun thing just to make a film with one week from my life, he said. And it was not on Youtube in full?? An all-too-fitting mantra for the ski racing pioneer who helped launch the World Cup circuit more than 50 years ago and was part of the commentary crew that called one of the most thrilling. Viewers will find a film filled with suspense and an endearing love story. Nicknamed "Gold-Rosi" in her native Germany, her gold medal in the Downhill at the 1976 Olympics was the only international win in the event during her career. When I started, the course was basically ruined and I knew I had only a small chance to win, he said. His younger brother, Klaus, was paralyzed from the waist down due to a downhill ski accident when the boy was 16. And Klammer was winning big on its C4 skis. I remember watching it live on TV as a kid and it was an electrifying performance. One of them had also briefly mentioned The Herminator, a combination of his first name and the invincible Terminator movie character, played by another Austrian legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. I also told Ryan about that funny nickname and Maiers comment. For Eva, they went with a young actress from Vienna, Valerie Huber. At 1.35 is when he takes a line that no other skier dared to on the day and that is to cut harder left, slingshotting him forward faster. So she really had no clue who I was.. Mittermaier is married to fellow pro skier Christian Neureuther, and their son, Felix Neureuther, is also a pro skier. Moser-Proell had won three events, including a downhill, yet she had not been charging as hard as usual. [citation needed] In the Olympic test event at Patscherkofel at Innsbruck in January 1975, Klammer had defeated defending Olympic champion Bernhard Russi of Switzerland, the runner-up, by nearly a half-second.[2]. If anybody could do it, its for sure Hermann, I explained with great optimism. In a statement released by NBC News on Sunday, his family said Gifford died suddenly at his Connecticut home of. So they took a chance, thinking what if we did a full-length feature film and just focused on one race? We pitched Franz on the idea, said Schmied. Franz Klammer was Sportsman of the Year in Austria three times: 1975, 1976 and 1983.. [1], In an interview with Tom Brokaw that aired on NBC on 13 February 2010, as part of their 2010 Winter Olympics coverage, American Olympian Bode Miller cited Klammer's style and approach to ski racing as a major source of inspiration for him. Klammers only hope was to chase a line that no one felt could be skied. Apparently they also threw quite a party at Arnies suite at the Hyatt Hotel to celebrate the wins. What happened next was the creation of a legend. There were some hot meetings within the Austrian squad, but the other racers didnt want to miss their chance for an Olympic medal just a few hours before the start of the show. I think he won for everybody, you know? I was not sure how much time I gained or lost, yet it gave me so much determination that I kept risking everything until the last meter. Klammer abandoned the acknowledged optimum track and chased a line that had never been skied on Patscherkofel. The Austrian former champion alpine ski racer dominated the event for four consecutive World Cup seasons and was gold medallist in 1976. [citation needed] He was the defending World Cup downhill champion and had won the three previous downhills in January at Wengen, Morzine and Kitzbhel, and also the previous year's race on the same Patscherkofel course. We should do a feature on it with Arnold, he said. But I felt, you know, they were really pushing me., Passing the finish tape, the time showed 1:45.73. So heres the real deal! The greatest downhill run of ALL Time! Do you feel like you've ever designed a downhill course that was too dangerous?