Instead, he was born in the southernmost Austrian state of Carinthia, a region with lesser-known mountains and a bit outside the ski racing spotlight. He didn’t grow up in the shadow of the towering Tyrolean Alps. In many ways, Klammer was an unlikely champion. In 1974, he took home World Championship gold in combined at St. A season earlier in 1974-75, he won an unprecedented eight World Cup downhills. Klammer came into the 1976 Olympics with three straight World Cup downhill wins and back-to-back Hahnenkamm titles. Four Hahnenkamm downhill titles (only Didier Cuche has more, with five). Five World Cup downhill crystal globes (most ever for men). Here’s the scorecard: 25 World Cup downhill wins – the most by any man in history (Stephan Eberharter has 18). While the 1976 downhill gold medal is his calling card, the long term athletic success he achieved has rarely been rivaled, even a half-century later. Impact of the Kaiserįew past stars of ski sport command attention today like Franz Klammer. Showings in the United States and Canada are pending. Berlin-based Picturetree International is managing global distribution. 26 in Villach, Austria, near Klammer’s childhood home of Mooswald. The story of the Austrian legend comes to the big screen this month with the release of “Chasing the Line.” The feature-length film debuted with a screening Sept. 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. The 1976 Olympic downhill was arguably the most anticipated Winter Olympic event in history – a matchup with the veteran, defending gold medalist Bernhard Russi of Switzerland, and the upstart young Austrian farm boy Franz Klammer. It would also usher in a new era of ski racing as a global sport while hundreds of millions of viewers watched his ‘Klammer Style’ run to Olympic gold. The next one minute, 45.73 seconds would change Franz Klammer’s life forever. Alongside the ski track outside Innsbruck, 60,000 fans lined the piste. Every set of Austrian eyes were tuned in to ORF across the far corners of the land. School playgrounds were quiet and the capital of Vienna was empty. There was a sense of calm – an indicator of confidence – as the 22-year-old athlete put his poles over the starting wand.Īcross all of Austria, there was nary a single person on a village street.
He slid his Fischer C4s back and forth, stretching his legs. His yellow racing suit wasn’t as crisp and flashy as the other golden Austrian uniforms. Bib number 15 moved into the starting gate atop Patscherkofel, high above the Tyrolean village of Innsbruck.
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