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. Instead, it focuses on the microcosm of his relationship with Eva as they are spirited away from the finish in an ambulance before she drives him from Tyrol back to Carinthia the next day. Olymipc downhill champion 1976 (Innsbruck). He was a troubled youth who began competitive skiing on nearby Mount . The young Austrian Franz Klammer is considered undoubtedly the favourite for the 1976 Olympic downhill race in Innsbruck. Hes let his skis do the talking over the years and has won a place in the hearts of Austrians well, to a degree. The Klammer story, yah, it was epic, said Schmied, a Styrian-born writer and director who, like most Austrians, was on skis before he was two. The fear of many was that the remarkable success of the Austrian ski racer would get passed by over the generations. With the Super-G, as a second speed race, not existing at the time, Klammer's career was only downhill (apart from a world title in the combined event in 1974), which explains why despite his overwhelming domination, the Austrian skier, born on 3 December 1953 in Mooswald (Carinthia), was never able to compete for the large general classification globe in the World Cup in an era particularly characterised by the success of the Swede Ingemar Stenmark. He won for the nation, for every Austrian skier. For Kaiser Franz, this moment of triumph happened on the 3,020m of the Patscherkofel in Innsbruck on Thursday 5 February 1976. He also holds the record for the most victories (four) on the full course at Kitzbhel. Chasing the Line presented new challenges he hadnt faced in producing Streif, which took viewers inside the minds of downhillers who threw themselves fearlessly into the Mausefalle. A huge crowd had amassed along the edge of the piste and at the finish line for the star event at the Innsbruck Games. One of his strongest opponents was the very determined Annemarie Proell. 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. 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. [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]. In 1974, he took home World Championship gold in combined at St. Moritz, silver in downhill. Ortliebs daughter, a tall racer and 17-year-old beauty named Nina, is now a member of the Austrian C squad after achieving some promising international results. Heres the scorecard: 25 World Cup downhill wins the most by any man in history (Stephan Eberharter has 18). Franz Klammer In 1976, How the legendary Austrian skier won one of the most exciting Olympic downhill races of all time. The pressure on the young farm boy from Mooswald was immense. Franz Klammer gets police protection from an enthusiastic crowd after his victory. But Kresse, a notable figure in marketing, found it hard to bring his dream to closure. Challenge in hand, Pochlatko took the film concept to director and screenwriter Andreas Schmied of Samsara Filmproduktion. Ill call him.. Rahlves wasnt even three years old when Klammer won gold. 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. You grow up with it., The most important week in my life! At the end of the race he was going so fast that you could see a difference from the previous skiers. We said that the best film, as far as our research goes, is simply behind the scenes at the Olympics.. He just did it!. This is where most biopics fail. There is tough and turny Patscherkofel above Innsbruck, site of the 1976 Olympics and the magnificent victory of the Austrian Franz Klammer in a performance that is considered the best single downhill run ever made. Russi was beaten by 33 hundredths of a second. Franz Klammer was Sportsman of the Year in Austria three times: 1975, 1976 and 1983.. I also told Ryan about that funny nickname and Maiers comment. I knew that Daron understood how Klammer was skiing, said Salmina. The legendary skier Franz Klammer. Klammer, the 1976 Olympic downhill gold medalist, said he had idolized Sailer, telling the Austria Press Agency, "As a small boy, I wanted to be just like him." Newsweek wrote in 1996 that. 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. He was a very legendary skier, said Mayer, the son of Helmut Mayer, the 1988 Olympic super-G silver medalist in Nakiska. Five World Cup downhill crystal globes (most ever for men). I think he is skiing right now at Sun Valley and I know his ski instructor. So she really had no clue who I was.. He made his World Cup debut at the age of 19 in 1972 at the Val Gardena downhill: he finished ninth in the training run for the race, but could only manage 32nd place on race day due to nerves. Bernhard and I, we are really close friends and appreciate each others company. The final event was a parallel slalom and Klammer lost in the first round. However, the Swiss . He took over after the sudden death of his father in 1959. 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. Klammer's 1:45.73 was more than thirty-two seconds faster. Second in the season-long battle for the downhill crystal globe in 1973, he turned up the heat in 1975 winning eight World Cup downhills and taking the season title. 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. The older generation of established alpine speed specialists from that timeled by Swiss racers Daniel Mahrer, William Besse and 1991 downhill FIS world champion Franz Heinzerhad great difficulties in negotiating La Face with their traditional style, which was to enter the turns at full speed and throw the skis sideways to change direction. A veteran journalist on the world alpine racing circuit recallsmoments of high dramaand humorfrom the Winter Games. I had to ski out of control and make these little mistakes everywhere. He had a few interesting moments, skis up against the old picket fence, but never any really close calls. There is Schladming in Austria, where crowds of 30,000 or more stand along its wild drop-off schuss to the finish. The next day, Katarina showed up on time with her gear, which Albertos personal bodyguard carried up to the hill. First off, Patscherkofel was quite a placid downhill run compared to the Hahnenkamm. TRY A 1-YR INTRODUCTORY MEMBERSHIP IN ISHA! There was plenty of passion and experience with Salmina, whose Mount St. Elias and Streif were captivating works. He could sense it himself. His five World Cup downhill titles (1975 1978, 1983) are still more than any other skier in history (no one else even has four). Klammer came into the 1976 Olympics with three straight World Cup downhill wins and back-to-back Hahnenkamm titles. Today, Franz Klammer is a paid ambassador for several ski resorts and corporations. Andreas dug into the story with his wife Elisabeth, a former journalist who is now a screenwriter and novelist. Klammer has remained one of the sports biggest fans. Andreas and Elisabeth Schied found both. [1] The following season he finished second in the downhill standings behind Roland Collombin of Switzerland. Im a passionate skier myself. He is not only legendary as a skier, hes just a very great person.. The risk was too great and the snow was wrong. Klammer said. Two or three times we tried to bring a good story. Every 4 years at the Winter Olympics, the premier event is the mens downhill. Mayer, a Hahnenkamm champion who won Olympic downhill gold at Rosa Khutor in 2014 and doubled up with super-G gold at PyeongChang, grew up literally on the other side of the mountain from Klammers home. He remains the king of the downhill, the most successful skier of anyone in his discipline in the World Cup. Right: Schwarzenegger and Maier. The Klammer story was, well, pretty perfect. Memorable Moments. Note: I don't have a model release for this subject The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary were particularly intense, with ten alpine competitions held over two weeks. Associated Press Russi calls the race, which was featured in the recently released film "Chasing the Line,". But in that year, 1975, I had won all the World Cup races. I think he won for everybody, you know? The new downhill skis produced ad hoc for the Albertville course were shorter and narrower at the middle. We all just knew he was going to crash. 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. Klammer has been married to his wife, Eva, since 1979: the couple met in 1975 when he was in Tunisia at a fitness camp with the Austrian ski team. Chasing the Line is a film about Klammer, it is also a portrayal of skiing, as a sport. His company BioramaSports.com produces the Ski World Cup Guide and provides TV stations with reports from the World Cup circuit. First of all, biopics fail because they are almost like passion plays. Is she also French? I asked him at the 2013 World Cup season start at Soelden. In the summer of 1975, in the lead-up to the Olympics, the Austrian team held a training camp in Tunisia where he coincidentally met a young girl from Vienna. At the end of the 1975 season, despite having won 8 of 9 downhills, he finished third for the overall World Cup title. In the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, the stakes rose. Chasing the Line screenplay does a masterful job in capturing the pressure he felt that week. He watches every ski race men and women. Hes loved by everybody and he had an amazing career. 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.. As he drove through the Austrian countryside from Klagenfurt to Villach, Kresse was quick to point out a little-known fact about Carinthian skiing. So heres the real deal! Yet this time, she was the hunter: Nadig had dominated the previous downhill races, winning six out of seven, as well as a giant slalom. Across all of Austria, there was nary a single person on a village street. I thought, Franz is the most famous Carinthian and we should do something with him, said Kresse. Frank Gifford who passed away yesterday at the age of 84 was known most as a Hall of Fame football player and the play-by-play man on Monday Night Football. Franz Klammer 1976 Innsbruck - The Greatest Downhill Run of All Time - FULL UNEDITED!! This can only be described as a Kamikaze run on the edge of suicide. The whole family was sitting in front of the TV. He won 4 more times in 1976 leading up to the Olympics. Ive never seen so much pressure put on one man my entire life, opined ABCs Bob Beattie. Amazingly, the victory comes eight years after his Olympic Games victory in Innsbruck. I really admired him his style, his way of skiing, Klammer said about Miller. 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. NEW YORK - Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford has died. 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. He was the overwhelming favorite for Gold with the home crowd there to watch. I think that was one of my strengths just to improvise.. Ortlieb is a well-known name in Alsace; I think I know some of his relatives, explained Lang, who was also born in Alsace in 1920. 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. Klammer took heavy risks on the treacherous piste, skied on the edge of disaster and won by 0.33 seconds to the delight of the Austrian fans. 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. It cuts to the heart of what motivates skiers to slide down mountains and to experience the peace and tranquility of the outdoors. At the intermediate time, he was behind Russi. Franz Klammer is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria..who overwhelmingly dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup sea. After clinching her sixth crystal globe for the overall World Cup title in 1979, Annemarie was aiming for the elusive Olympic gold medal in 1980 that she had missed eight years before. 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. After his skiing career, he became a racing driver and raced touring cars until the 1990s. In many ways, Klammer was an unlikely champion. 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