Franz Klammer
1976 Olympic Downhill Champion
Winner of eight of the nine downhill races on the World Cup tour in 1975, Klammer
was the heavy favorite at the 1976 Olympics but faced stiff competition from defending
Olympic champion Bernhard Russi of Switzerland. Skiing last of the fifteen seeded
skiiers, Klammer gave one of the most thrilling performances in the history of the
Olympic Games. Partway down the run he trailed Russi by a fraction of a second, but
he skied with such wild abandon over the final 1,000 metres that he seemed always
on the verge of a dangerous fall. When he crossed the finish line he had won the
gold by only one-third of a second. Holder of the World Cup downhill title from 1975
to 1978 and again in 1983, Klammer also won a gold medal in the Alpine combination
and a silver medal in the downhill at the 1974 world championships. Klammer was
named Austrian sportsman of the year in 1981, and competed again at the 1984 Olympic
Games, finishing sixth.
| EVENT |
PLACE |
POINTS |
MONEY |
EVENT WINS |
| 1977 Preliminary 3 |
2 |
41 1/3 |
$9,133 |
Half Mile Run, Bike Race |
| TOTALS |
|
41 1/3 |
$9,133 |
2 |