#Franz klammer 1976 tv

Her last victory-in the Olympic downhill at Lake Placid in 1980-was particularly emotional and a great story, too. The Austrian set an impressive record of 62 victories and 115 podium finishes on the World Cup tour in only 175 competitions. вЂњSo I decided to take even more risks.вЂќ LAKE PLACID 1980 MOSER-PROELL WINS THE RACEвЂ¦В AND WINS REDEMPTIONДЄnnemarie Moser-Proell dominated her time as no other skier before and after her. вЂњI knew I only had a small chance to win,вЂќ he told the author. Photo caption:В The race course was rough and the pressure was on when Klammer pushed out of the starting hut in the downhill. The other favorites were not as gutsy or crazy. вЂњI was amused later to discover that I was the only skier who dared to take that line. 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. I made a huge jump and thought I would crash, yet I managed to survive and land on my skis. As I approached it, I made a last-second decision to go for it instead of following my usual rounder line. вЂњI had seen in training that a few skiers, including Ken Read of Canada, had tested a straighter yet very risky line there. вЂњSo I decided to take even more risks than I had planned, especially in the Ochsenschlag section. вЂњWhen I started, the course was basically ruined and I knew I had only a small chance to win,вЂќ he said. Only a few months later, Franz told me how he managed to clinch that title after his fantastic run. вЂњI canвЂ™t believe it, he has been amazing!вЂќ Stewart said. The crowd went nuts as the announcers in ABCвЂ™s commentator booth-Frank Gifford, Bob Beattie and their special host Jackie Stewart, the former Formula One world car-racing champion-told the world the results. 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. He was two-tenths of a second behind Russi. Yet Franz fought hard to stay on line, his arms wheeling in the air while approaching the last turns. вЂњHe is out, he canвЂ™t make itвЂ¦вЂќ 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. The blow-by-blow delivered over the PA system didnвЂ™t help their nerves-Klammer was behind the leaders at the intermediate times. The screams of thousands of spectators must have been heard for miles. The course was rougher when a nervous Klammer pushed himself out of the starting hut.

#Franz klammer 1976 tv

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.Д®veryone got nervous after defending Olympic champion Bernhard Russi from Switzerland set the best time after a nearly flawless run. Klammer felt he вЂњhadвЂќ 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.

His fans adored his down-to-earth personality and his aggressive style. The Austrian had become a hero in his country after having won a dozen downhill races in previous seasons. It was a huge achievement, as there was so much pressure on him prior to that Olympic race. A veteran journalist on the world alpine racing circuit recallsВ moments of high drama-and humor-from the Winter Games.ДЇranz Klammer produced one of the most thrilling moments in alpine racing history with his reckless gold-medal run on the treacherous Patscherkofel downhill course at Innsbruck, Austria in February 1976.