The story of Franz Klammer is the story of ski racing in Carinthia. Franz Klammer has a height of 6'0" (1.83 m). [5], Klammer was a hero to Austrian ski racing fans and also to fans the world over for doing a great deal to promote the popularity of alpine ski racing. Their excitement is palpable. Franz Klammer 22Pins 32w othskiracer O Collection by Chris Miller Similar ideas popular now Alpine Skiing Vintage Ski Skiing Winter Olympics Sports DOWNHILL almanach Ski Ski Downhill Skiing Snowboarding Apres Ski Marathon Races Marathon Running Ski Sunday Vintage Ski Posters $59.95 Even today, he is emotional in telling it. My father had one of the very first VCR recorders, a clunky JVC in 1976 and captured this direct from the broadcast to a Scotch 3M VHS tape. So I decided to take even more risks.. [] 3. The steep and sinuous La Face course at Val dIsre, France, which was built in the late 1980s by Switzerlands Bernhard Russi, the 1972 mens downhill Olympic champion, launched an unexpected revolution in the sport. He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, winning the downhill at Patscherkofel by a margin of 0.33 seconds with a time of 1:45.73. Show more Download Available now 9 minutes Last on Sat 15 Feb 2014. He could sense it himself. He would win on skiings toughest downhill course, Kitzbuhel, an incredible four times. Pepi Fischer was omnipresent, pushing hard to force Klammer to use his new ski. The story of the Austrian legend comes to the big screen this month with the release of. Newspaper. I went all the way up to the top. Possibly yes, he answered with a grin. Four Hahnenkamm downhill titles (only Didier Cuche has more, with five). Italy's Gustav Thni defeated Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark in the finals and won his fourth overall title in five years. Curling. Every 4 years at the Winter Olympics, the premier event is the mens downhill. He nearly crashed again on one of the last jumps yet recovered to cross the finish line with the winning time, only a few tenths of a second ahead of his Swiss rival and friend. Enjoy!! But she was always a huge support from the beginning, sitting always in the background and just being there. Im a passionate skier myself. Another surprise was revealed later when my father, World Cup founder Serge Lang, intrigued by Patricks last name, discovered that he was a double national: Austrian, as he was born in that country from an Austrian mother, but also French through his dad, a cook from Alsace, who had emigrated to Lech to work, raise a family and run the Montana Hotel there. Born into a farming family in Mooswald, community Fresach, Carinthia, and like many alpine farm boys, Klammer skied to school each winter day. I thought, Franz is the most famous Carinthian and we should do something with him, said Kresse. Klammer first showed signs of promise in the second half of the 1973 World Cup season, finishing second in the St. Anton downhill behind Bernhard Russi of Switzerland, the reigning Olympic and World Cup downhill champion. The first choice to play the role of Franz was Julian Waldner. Each competitor who followed failed to best his time, until there was only one skier left who was capable of beating him: Franz Klammer. And Schmied and Schmidt hit it out of the park. Memorable Moments. Its world champion Daron Rahlves. Here it is !! Klammer overwhelmingly dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975-78). To understand the 1976 Olympic downhill, you need to look back a few years in time. Russi traced a new type of downhill that required great technical skills from athletes and a high level of performance from their skis. We discuss out recent trip to Innsbruck, Austria along with Patricia Frommer (Frommers.com, Frommer Guides) who adds her perspective. He had super experience in filmmaking. The story of a day like no other We would be right to consider him the greatest downhill skier of all time. I always had this feeling in the starting gate. A season earlier in 1974-75, he won an unprecedented eight World Cup downhills. Photo caption:Hermann Maiers nickname, the Herminator, was inspired at the 1998 Games by themovie character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since the previous season the charismatic newcomer has won virtually every race.The pressure from the media and the public and the hopes of an entire nation are off the scales. The film portrays little glory for Franz in the hours and day after the race. Olympic triumph. This is all the sweeter when it is won in front of more than 60,000 focused supporters and millions of Austrians gathered in front of their TV sets across the country. In 1975 he had dominated the event in a fashion never seen before by winning 8 out of the nine downhill races of the season. The hardest thing was when I first ran the course to try and get it all figured out, laughed Rahlves. In 1975 and 1976 he was the best downhill skier in the world. In the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, the stakes rose. Media coverage was moving into a golden era, with more live television and a bigger platform for burgeoning sport stars. As expected, Russi put down a solid run to take the lead. Innsbruck 1976 | Olympic Winter games. Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Above: Maier on the GS course in Nagano. He was a troubled youth who began competitive skiing on nearby Mount . Rahlves wasnt even three years old when Klammer won gold. The FULL unedited original legendary run of Franz Klammer at the 1976 Innsbruck Olymps! His greatest moment is certainly still his Olympic win in Innsbruck; however, his entire career remains a great source of inspiration for all the speed skiers that have followed. An ABC van brought us from the medal plaza to the Saddledome arena. Photo caption:Ortlieb takes flight over the mens downhill course on his way to winning gold at Albertville. The Swiss rival, Phillippe Roux stood third at 1:46:69, Italys Herbert Plank second at 1:46:59, and the magnificent Swiss, Bernhard Russi first at 1:46:06. Most recently this includes the downhill course at Jeongseon for the PyeongChang 2018 Games. As a consolation prize, Proell won the FIS gold medal for her success in the three-event combined, yet she apparently threw the medal away after receiving it. Across all of Austria, there was nary a single person on a village street. Showings in the United States and Canada are pending. Hes let his skis do the talking over the years and has won a place in the hearts of Austrians well, to a degree. Russi had won the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal in Sapporo, Japan. Franz Klammer's downhill exploits from Insbruck 1976 Restless Volleyball men's Final Yugoslavia vs Russia at Sydney 2000 Should aliens compete at the Olympic Games Our kids casters pick their preferred team to participate at Olympic Games Kids Call Franz Klammer's downhill exploits from Insbruck 1976 The best example is Austrias Hermann Maier, one of the greatest personalities in alpine ski racing. Having followed her career since her first victory in 1970, it was electrifying to hug her after the press conferencea record-setting athlete who had become a good friend. This can only be described as a Kamikaze run on the edge of suicide. Entering the 1976 Winter Olympics, the 22-year-old Klammer was the favourite to take the gold medal in the downhill at Innsbruck in his native Austria. Chasing the Line screenplay does a masterful job in capturing the pressure he felt that week. Today, more than 45 years later, its legend still lives on, an enduring story of what many consider to be the greatest ski race of all time. In December, 1998, he raced a World Cup super-G on the fabled course. A season earlier in 1974-75, he won an unprecedented eight World Cup downhills. But I knew I had to risk everything. In a quick one-camera interview I made with him later on, he added, Ill be back!, During one of our early morning production meetings at the CBS office at Hakuba, I discussed Hermanns chance to excel in the Super G with play-by-play announcer Tim Ryan. It wasnt a scene of parties and fame, just a quiet ride into the sunset after the much-anticipated race. Their story was truly one for the big screen. Andreas and Elisabeth Schied found both. In fact, the course contributed to new technology in ski construction, ultimately leading to the parabolic shaped skis now used by most recreational skiers. Franz Klammer won only one Olympic medal, but that was the one that mattered - at Innsbruck in 1976. I was kicking in her belly because my mother was so excited the whole time.. (Surely my fathers tape isnt the only known copy of this run in full?) In bib no. Chasing the Line is palpable. The downhill was to be run down the face of Patscherkofel, one of the premier downhill tracks in the world. Franz Klammer - 1976 Olympic Gold Medal Run franzweberinc 113 subscribers 509K views 13 years ago The greatest downhill of ALL time! While Klammers Olympic spot was fixed, his teammates were battling for start rights in training. As the lowest seed in 15th position, his task of bringing home . The bad ones are almost like little Franz gets his keys and then hes a teenager. Klammer, along with fellow Carinthia natives Fritz Strobl and Matthias Mayer, form a unique trio of Olympic downhill champions more than any other Austrian state, even the Tyrol. Now the snow has arrived to give today's heroes a chance to shine on a. Its about skiing to school each day, always enjoying that feeling of sliding on snow. During casting, Schmied and casting director Nicole Schmidt looked for actors and actresses right down to their age and the details of their regional dialect something tricky that changes over time. Ive never seen so much pressure put on one man my entire life, opined ABCs Bob Beattie. He just went down the straight line which normally everybody said its just impossible, you cant stand this. At the end of the 1975 season, despite having won 8 of 9 downhills, he finished third for the overall World Cup title. His rival, Russi, drew number 3 the optimum start position given weather conditions. Finally!! Enter 22-year old Franz Klammer. 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. I think it is the most exciting Olympics event I've ever seen. Amazingly, the victory comes eight years after his Olympic Games victory in Innsbruck. Franz Klammer is one of the all-time legendsof skiing. A great career only becomes exceptional with the ultimate title an Olympic gold medal. Yet Franz fought hard to stay on line, his arms wheeling in the air while approaching the last turns. It was a crazed run to Olympic glory, up on one ski then the other, crossing back and forth through the pine boughs, sliding perilously close to the fence. I wanted to make a film. He answered that although his gold medal at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck was generally regarded as his greatest career achievement, winning at Kitzbhel in 1984 meant something very special to him, considering he hadn't won there in seven years. For others, like Franz Klammer, its about climbing mountains for fun and sliding back down. He did all the action shots, said Schmied. But it was also complex. His five World Cup downhill titles (1975 1978, 1983) are still more than any other skier in history (no one else even has four). The next day, Katarina showed up on time with her gear, which Albertos personal bodyguard carried up to the hill. Everyone knows the Kaiser. I remember the race we were in the living room watching on TV in black and white, said Salmina, who was 11 at the time. His career total is 26 downhill wins: 25 World Cup and 1 Olympic. He also holds the record for the most victories (four) on the full course at Kitzbhel. Klammer came into the 1976 Olympics with three straight World Cup downhill wins and back-to-back Hahnenkamm titles. About that same time, Klammer had seen a film Schmied had directed about a Carinthian ice hockey player, Harrinator, that had been released that year. I remember watching that gold medal run. Yet the 18-year-old turned out to be the victim of the political storm that eliminated her teammate Karl Schranz, unfairly disqualified by the IOC at the beginning of the Games for having apparently earned endorsement money as a ski racer. 3, he performed pretty well and crossed the finish line with a time of 1:46.06, giving him the lead. The fear of many was that the remarkable success of the Austrian ski racer would get passed by over the generations. Franz legendary race was one month before I was born, he said. Only a few months later, Franz told me how he managed to clinch that title after his fantastic run. Annemarie Moser-Proell dominated her time as no other skier before and after her. He would be the last of the real contenders to go off, an advantage in that he would know what time was needed, but a disadvantage because of the damage done to the course by the first 14 skiers. . 15, a yellow suit, red shoes and a red helmet with a white stripe, Klammer set off to shouting from the crowd. Above: Maier on the GS course in Nagano. The legendary skier Franz Klammer. Suddenly there were 60,000 people in the stadium and the whole mountain began to shake. Klammer did not have classic ski technique, he came out of the gate fearlessly, right on the edge. This was the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck - the men's downhill, the blue riband event - and the yellow flash was Franz Klammer, Austrian national hero and pre-race favourite. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Franz Klammer interview: 'Ski racing is my life and I wanted to do it no matter what', Olympic champions in alpine skiing men's downhill, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Franz_Klammer&oldid=1117287064, Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics, Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics, Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Australian Endurance Championship drivers, Articles with German-language sources (de), Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from July 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Articles using sports links with data from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. We had really long talks about how the movie should be filmed. This one was different. This time, Alberto could not attend her performance, but Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was sitting next to me. Starting in 15th position, Klammer was the last of the top seeds and knew that Russi had set a blistering pace to lead by over a half-second. Their finish line embrace at Patscherkofel in 1976 was heartfelt and forged a bond between the two rivals each Olympic downhill champions. It was the best babysitter because I was already out there on skis, skiing up and down to a little village up in the mountain. There are no products in your shopping cart. Klammer, age 19, followed this up with a third at St. Moritz and a third in the giant slalom at Mont Sainte-Anne (the only time he finished on the podium in a World Cup Giant Slalom in his career). Like most Austrians, he had a special place in his heart for Franz Klammer. NEW YORK - Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford has died. Alpine Skiing. Lineage: Original Scotch VHS 3Hr (1980) SP- Panasonic NVHS-960 SVHS (Gold edition - Mint) - SVIDEO lead - Canopus ADVC300 - Firewire - PC /w/ Sony Vegas with Neatvideo plugin - TMPGENC (Deint - 50fps mp4 3000bitrate) Youtube. Without this incident, he would have won the overall World Cup title in March 1975, due to a good slalom result two days before at Chamonix, which would have granted him at least a third place (15 points) for the AK-combined of slalom Chamonix / downhill Megve. Thats how I won that day., Photo caption:The race course was rough and the pressure was onwhen Klammer pushed out of the starting hut in thedownhill. And the Olympics were returning to the Alps after a sojourn to Sapporo in 1972. But Pepi Fischer wanted more. All I could find on Youtube was dodgy edited versions showing only half of the run, parts in slow motion or snippets that just frustrate the hell out of you. I really was happy of course, and relieved, that I did my greatest race, or my most important run. This article first appeared in the January/February 2014 issue of Skiing History magazine. Enter 22-year old Franz Klammer. The mind of a downhill skier - Franz Klammer. There is Schladming in Austria, where crowds of 30,000 or more stand along its wild drop-off schuss to the finish. It was totally, totally quiet. We said that the best film, as far as our research goes, is simply behind the scenes at the Olympics.. Rahlves got his own revenge, of sorts, just two months later when he opened the World Championships in St. Anton with a super-G victory ahead of Austrias Stephan Eberharter and Maier a day that stopped the world in the hearts of Austrian ski racing fans. In an interview with Austrian television in 2006, the 52-year-old Klammer was asked about his greatest achievement. He and Elisabeth dissected the story to determine how they could tell Klammers story and keep the attention of an audience 45 years after his famous ride down Patscherkofel. The Austrian had become a hero in his country after having won a dozen downhill races in previous seasons. 2 Years of Sipping Sports A Sip of Sports. I gave him the local phone number of Austrias media coordinator, who did receive a call from Idaho after Hermanns amazing comeback in Super G. Schwarzenegger was so impressed by Hermanns triumph and his funny nickname that he wanted to speak to him. Klammer overwhelmingly dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975-78). It was unreal to be a part of that it was an honor, said Rahlves, who spent a week last February doing ski scenes outside Innsbruck. To learn more, please visit www.franzweber.com Show. He won 8 of 9 during the 1975 season and also won 19 of 23, 20 of 26 and 21 of 29 downhills. 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