His technique over an icy slope, his jumping skills and his ability to find incredible race lines remain absolutely unique. But, with Eva, it was immediate. Innsbruck 1976 | Olympic Winter games. He was always going for the victory. A great career only becomes exceptional with the ultimate title an Olympic gold medal. 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). Franz Klammer, (born Dec. 3, 1953, Mooswald, Austria), Austrian Alpine skier who specialized in the downhill event, winning 25 World Cup downhill races in his career. Then came the biggest blow. Two years later, bothTomba and Witt competed again at Lillehammer. He won 4 more times in 1976 leading up to the Olympics. Legend has it that at the top just before Franz left the starting gate he asked the timing official What do I need to do to win? and the guy responded Kill Yourself. He won for the nation, for every Austrian skier. [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]. But they were not attractive. Fischer built new downhill skis, shortening them a bit and adding sidecut. He won 8 of 9 during the 1975 season and also won 19 of 23, 20 of 26 and 21 of 29 downhills. So thats the thing, you know?, Last month the two met again at the Zurich Film Festival for a screening of. The fear of many was that the remarkable success of the Austrian ski racer would get passed by over the generations. Here the Austrians and Swiss pit their best. ago I remember being a kid seeing this live and thinking how close to death he pushed himself. We would watch a lot of film and I had to put it in my head that I had to ski out of control and make these little mistakes everywhere., Before every ski scene, as Rahlves was examining the run in his mind, the director would scream at him, Daron, no, no, no, you got to ski Klammer style, Klammer style out of control.. Rather than retire, he worked long and hard at a comeback. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 Austrian former champion alpine ski racer dominated the event for four consecutive World Cup seasons and was gold medallist in 1976. The best example is Austrias Hermann Maier, one of the greatest personalities in alpine ski racing. He followed him through the day soaking in the cultural experience. Frank Gifford called this event and he nailed it. Here is a Pro-Quality transfer from my fathers original master tape and it turned out brilliant and clear. Above: Maier on the GS course in Nagano. He had super experience in filmmaking. Newspaper. Options: Reply Quote Re: Where to find Franz Klammer 1976 Innsbruck downhill video? He nearly went down on the first curve, but saved it on one ski. Klammer finished fourth overall in 1976, third in 1977, and fifth in 1978.[3]. Andreas dug into the story with his wife Elisabeth, a former journalist who is now a screenwriter and novelist. Franz Klammer 1976 Innsbruck - The Greatest Downhill Run of All Time - FULL UNEDITED!! His career total is 26 downhill wins: 25 World Cup and 1 Olympic. He has worked as a designer of Olympic ski runs since 1988. But I felt, you know, they were really pushing me., Passing the finish tape, the time showed 1:45.73. I asked my father and he said \"i have it somewhere on one of my old VHS tapes im sure of it\" and we did a long extensive search and found it! Klammer won every downhill in the 1975 season, except Megve, where one of his skis came off. In an interview before the Games, La Bomba told the press that his dad, Franco, might buy him a Ferrari if he clinched two gold medals in Canadaa mission he accomplished by winning the slalom and the GS. And Klammer was winning big on its C4 skis. After Schranz flew back to Vienna, where he was welcomed by a huge crowd on the main square, La Proell did her best to recoup, yet could not achieve her potential on race days. [] 3. I've won so many things, without the Olympic title it would have been a good career, but not a great career. The Olympic Games plus the FIS World Championships, Franz Klammer was also crowned World Champion on that day. The opportunity for Andreas Schmied, along with his wife Elisabeth, to write the screenplay for the Klammer story was both good fortune and a big challenge. The downhill was to be run down the face of Patscherkofel, one of the premier downhill tracks in the world. Austrian great Franz Klammer says the winner of the men's downhill in . But it was also complex. I worked as a ski instructor when I was a student. They have two daughters, Sophie and Stephanie.[1]. And then I knew immediately that ski racing would be my life.. This can only be described as a Kamikaze run on the edge of suicide. Others had tried to make a film about Franz Klammer for quite some time and nobody quite got it correct. Two or three times we tried to bring a good story. Patrick Lang, the son of World Cup founder Serge Lang, has covered 11 Winter Olympics since 1972 and has written about ski racing for dozens of media outlets. Two days before his big race the makers of his skis, Fischer, wanted him to use their new design. In February, he caught attention with a silver in downhill at the World Championships in St. Moritz albeit over a second behind his teammate David Zwilling. 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. It was totally, totally quiet. [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. It will premiere Oct. 26 in Villach, Austria, near Klammers childhood home of Mooswald. After trailing Russi by .20 of a second at the second intermediate time he made up more than half a second on the bottom portion of the course to win in 1:45.73. 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. Gifford hosted "Wide World of Sports," covered several Olympics -- his call of Franz Klammer's gold-medal run in 1976 is considered a broadcasting masterpiece -- and announced a record 411 Monday . Many still call it the greatest downhill of all time. They also brought the 1976 downhill race course back to life, albeit with machine grooming to make it a bit more racer friendly. He had won the pre-Olympic downhill on Patscherkofel over Russi in 1975. One of the most exciting sports events I have ever witnessed was Franz Klammers 1976 Winter Olympic run for the gold in the downhill. I always thought, I will never be able to find a woman who Im going to love, said Klammer, pausing to collect his thoughts. 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 Nobody was doing anything. To learn more, please visit www.franzweber.com Show. He would win 26 World Cup Downhills between 1973 and 1984. He just did it!. Hoping for a low start number in the draw, Klammer drew 15 last in the top seed. Klammer felt he had to win the Olympic downhill for the honor of his ski-crazy country and the estimated 60,000 spectators who gathered along the race course to watch the competition. 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. The crowd went nuts as the announcers in ABCs commentator boothFrank Gifford, Bob Beattie and their special host Jackie Stewart, the former Formula One world car-racing championtold the world the results. [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]. Franz everyone knows him!, In his heart, Kresse believed in the story. Franz Klammer won only one Olympic medal, but that was the one that mattered - at Innsbruck in 1976. The pressure intensified again when Klammer drew the 15th spot for his Olympic run. I was so convinced that I can do it. 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. Show more Download Available now 9 minutes Last on Sat 15 Feb 2014. I had to look into it is there even a movie there? he said. Ironically, it wasnt his first visit to the little-used speed course on Patscherkofel. Thats what I liked.. More Memorable Moments. The risk was too great and the snow was wrong. Klammer said. Olympic triumph. The modern-day vintage-looking C4s took a little adjustment time. This time, Alberto could not attend her performance, but Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was sitting next to me. Theres a lot of character to it where it meanders down the mountain into turns and and really cool knolls and bumps to catch some air.. Franz Klammer In 1976, How the legendary Austrian skier won one of the most exciting Olympic downhill races of all time. They were at my grandparents (house) and they watched the race with the neighbors. 1999 - 2019 Skiing History. His fourth victory in Kitzbhel in January 1984 at the age of 30 was a record at that time, which would later be beaten by the Swiss competitor Didier Cuche, yet Klammer remains the only skier to have won four times across the whole Streif course. 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. Most recently this includes the downhill course at Jeongseon for the PyeongChang 2018 Games. February 18 He is considered the best-ever Downhill skier who dominated the competitions in the seventies and the eighties. I made a huge jump and thought I would crash, yet I managed to survive and land on my skis. However, the Swiss . As we approached her, Mueller, who recognized Tomba and might have read about his wish to meet her protg, pushed Katarina into another room, so she wouldnt be distracted by the handsome Italian playboy. A key to any film is casting. Klammer's gold-medal-winning downhill run at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics was anything but dull. 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. Ryan didnt need much time to get hold of Schwarzeneggers Austrian-born ski instructor, Adi Erber, and to organize a crew to do an interview with the movie star. The project really came to us with a big burden, said Schmied, echoing Pochlatkos concerns. I spoke about it with ABC studio producer Draggan Mihailovich, a Tomba fan, who organized the journey. And I personally think there is somewhere that power from spectators they can pull him down. Nobody had ever had a string of victories like that. Everyones heart was in their throats and on the edge of their seat. The next day, Katarina showed up on time with her gear, which Albertos personal bodyguard carried up to the hill. And then I completely changed the line. Franz Klammer recalls, By the time I walked into the starting gate, I knew I am going to win. He won the gold medal in the downhill event at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. But the most important week in my life! After beating Collombin and Russi at Schladming in December 1973 under terrible conditions, Collombin bested him at Garmisch, Avoriaz and Wengen. Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Don't forget this was 1976. Sporting Legends. Note: I don't have a model release for this subject She never came to the races. 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. 15, a yellow suit, red shoes and a red helmet with a white stripe, Klammer set off to shouting from the crowd. [1] He had a tough struggle to make the Austrian ski team, traditionally dominated by the states of Tyrol and Salzburg. The streets across the nation were empty and factory workers received a special break, so they could watch the event on TV with millions of their compatriots. Every 4 years at the Winter Olympics, the premier event is the mens downhill. He could sense it himself. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (197578). 1,154,848 views Dec 13, 2018 Finally!! No. A fan of the Klagenfurt ice hockey team KAC, Klammer liked the film. At his peak (Wengen 1976 to Wengen 1977), Klammer won ten consecutive downhills, including the pressure-laden win at the 1976 Olympics. They were excited and I knew I won it. Five World Cup downhill crystal globes (most ever for men). 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. Moser-Proell had won three events, including a downhill, yet she had not been charging as hard as usual. Kids call the Jamaican . As expected, Russi put down a solid run to take the lead. Pochlatko tracked down the director to talk about his engagement in telling Franz story. He was a troubled youth who began competitive skiing on nearby Mount . Franz Klammer can be considered the greatest downhill skier of all time having won 25 downhill races, a record that still stands today in the men's race. ^ Klammer was an alternate on the 1980 team and did not compete. I was so focused, I was so concentrated, just on the run and then half-way down, I was looking at the crowd, kind of now I'd better do something to win the race. This is not a good story for a film because you need the emotional roller coaster. Four years later, they met for dinner and a private ski lesson. Bernhard and I, we are really close friends and appreciate each others company. Klammer and Strobl became lifelong friends, sharing a hunting lodge in late September before the films debut in Zurich. In 1975 and 1976 he was the best downhill skier in the world. Across all of Austria, there was nary a single person on a village street. So that was the important thing., They were married in 1979. 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. We had really long talks about how the movie should be filmed. It was a really fun course with all the elements of a good downhill, said Rahlves. We had briefly seen Witt during our walk under the crowded stands, as she was exercising with her trainer, Jutta Mueller. Wearing bib 1 and with nothing to lose, as he didnt belong to the circle of favorites, he achieved an aggressive yet controlled run and set a time that nobody could beat. 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