Jump to content

Karl Schranz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karl Schranz
Schranz at Kitzbühel
Personal information
Born(1938-11-18)18 November 1938(age 85)
St. Anton,Tyrol,Austria
OccupationAlpine skier
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill,giant slalom,slalom,combined
World Cup debutJanuary1967(age 28)
inaugural season
RetiredFebruary1972(age 33)
Websitekarlschranz
Olympics
Teams3 –(1960,1964,1968)
Medals1 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams6 – (1960–70)
includes three Olympics
Medals6 (3 gold)
World Cup
Seasons6 –(1967–72)
Wins12 – (8DH,4GS)
Podiums23 – (12DH,9GS,2SL)
Overall titles2 –(1969,1970)
Discipline titles3 – (2DH,1GS)
Medal record
Men'salpine skiing
RepresentingAustria
World Cup race podiums
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Slalom 0 1 1
Giant slalom 4 1 4
Downhill 8 1 3
Total 12 3 8
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1964 Innsbruck Giant slalom
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1962 Chamonix Downhill
Gold medal – first place 1962 Chamonix Combined
Gold medal – first place 1970 Val Gardena Giant slalom
Silver medal – second place 1962 Chamonix Giant slalom
Bronze medal – third place 1966 Portillo Giant slalom

Karl Schranz(born 18 November 1938) is a former championalpine ski racerfromAustria,one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Born and raised inSt. Anton,Tyrol,Schranz had a lengthy ski career, from 1957 to 1972. He won twenty majordownhills,many majorgiant slalomraces and several majorslaloms.Late in his career he was the successor toJean-Claude Killyas theWorld Cupoverall champion; Schranz won the title at age 30 in the third World Cup season of1969,and repeated in1970.He was also the downhill champion for those two seasons and was the giant slalom season champion in 1969. Schranz won both the "classic downhills" four times each: theHahnenkammatKitzbühel,Austria(1966, 1969, 1972, 1972), and theLauberhornatWengen,Switzerland(1959, 1963, 1966, 1969). He also excelled at the legendaryArlberg-Kandaharevents, winning nine times, from 1957 (Chamonix) to 1970 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen).

Early years

[edit]

Schranz' father was a tunnel worker in St. Anton, which led to an early death fromtuberculosis;his widow was left to raise five children. In addition to the hardship, their hut burned down. At age 12, Schranz became an apprentice ski maker, then worked in a sawmill, and later became a ski tester. Schranz began skiing before age five on salvaged broken skis, left by tourists and reworked by his father.[1]

At age 18, he won the first of three consecutiveArlberg-Kandahardownhill and combined titles atChamonixin March 1957.[2]Schranz won again the following year, rotated back to his hometown at St. Anton,[3]and also in 1959 atGarmisch,West Germany.[4]He missed the1958 World ChampionshipsinBad Gasteindue to illness.[3]

Olympics

[edit]

TheOlympicswere unfortunately Schranz's nemesis. His disqualification from his fourth Olympics in1972for acknowledging that he, like all other top racers, was not a pureamateurcaused a furor and subsequent reform of theIOC.In his first Olympics in 1960, at age 21, Schranz was injured but started anyway and finished seventh in both the downhill and giant slalom. He won a silver medal ingiant slalomin1964atInnsbruck,despite being ill with theflu.

In1968atGrenoble,France,Schranz competed in all three alpine events, held atChamrousse.He finished fifth in thedownhilland sixth in thegiant slalom,both won by rivalJean-Claude Killyof the host country. In his first run in theslalom,Schranz's time was only 0.32 behind. His second run was run in a very dense fog, which hampered his visibility, and Schranz claimed he was impeded by a race official which affected his race. He was given another chance to run the second run and took the lead, but was later informed that his first attempt at run two should have been counted as he missed a gate before encountering the race official, and Schranz was disqualified. A jury upheld the decision and Killy was declared the winner for a third Olympic gold medal in the same games. There was a great deal of controversy over the suspicion that partisan French officials were attempting unfairly to prevent Schranz from winning so that Killy would sweep all three races, duplicatingToni Sailer's1956sweep.[citation needed]

Schranz had better success at theworld championshipsof non-Olympic years: gold in the downhill and combined in1962and gold in the giant slalom in1970.[5](From1948through1980,theWinter Olympicswere also the world championships for alpine skiing.)

Classified as a professional by theInternational Olympic Committee,[1][6]Schranz was banned from the1972 Winter Olympicsand retired from the World Cup circuit in mid-February at age 33.[7]In July 1973, he joined the pro ski racing circuit.[8][9]

Schranz later became ahotelowner in his hometown of St. Anton and played a key role in organizing the2001 World Championships.[10]

World Cup results

[edit]

Season titles

[edit]
  • 5 titles - (2 overall, 2DH,1GS)
Season Discipline
1969 Overall
Downhill
Giant slalom
1970 Overall
Downhill

Season standings

[edit]
Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
Slalom		 Super G Downhill Combined
1967 28 7 7 8 not
run		 13 not
awarded
1968 29 8 20 11 3
1969 30 1 9 1 1
1970 31 1 13 4 1
1971 32 11 — 12 8
1972 33 8 — — 2

Results from the1968 Winter Olympicsand1970 World Championshipswere included the World Cup standings.

Individual races

[edit]
Schranz winning atWengenin 1966,
prior to the firstWorld Cupseason
Season Date Location Discipline
1969 12 December 1968 FranceVal-d'I sắc re,France Giant slalom
11 January 1969 SwitzerlandWengen,Switzerland Downhill
18 January 1969 AustriaKitzbühel,Austria Downhill
1 February 1969 AustriaSt. Anton,Austria Downhill
15 March 1969 CanadaMont St. Anne,Canada Giant slalom
1970 5 January 1970 SwitzerlandAdelboden,Switzerland Giant slalom
23 January 1970 FranceMegève,France Downhill
1 February 1970 West GermanyGarmisch,West Germany Downhill
10 February 1970 ItalyVal Gardena,Italy Giant slalom
1972 12 December 1971 FranceVal-d'I sắc re, France Downhill
14 January 1972 AustriaKitzbühel, Austria Downhill
15 January 1972 Downhill

World Championship results

[edit]
Year Age Slalom Giant
Slalom		 Super-G Downhill Combined
1958 19 — — not run — —
1960 21 — 7 7 —
1962 23 4 2 1 1
1964 25 24 2 11 6
1966 27 DNF1 3 9 —
1968 29 DSQ2 6 5 —
1970 31 DNF2 1 4 —
1972 33 — — — —

From1948through1980,theWinter Olympicswere also theWorld Championshipsfor alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).

1958: illness
1972: banned by IOC

Olympic results

[edit]
Year Age Slalom Giant
Slalom		 Super-G Downhill Combined
1960 21 — 7 not run 7 not run
1964 25 24 2 11
1968 29 DSQ2 6 5
1972 33 — — —

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Karl Schranz third in history to fall to Olympic amateur rule".The Morning Record.Meriden, CT. Associated Press. February 2, 1972. p. 11.
  2. ^"Austria's Schranz combined winner".Milwaukee Sentinel.March 11, 1957. p. 5, part 2.
  3. ^ab"Austrian captures ski title".Sunday Herald.Bridgeport, CT. UPI. March 9, 1958. p. 34.
  4. ^"Schranz wins alpine trophy".Milwaukee Sentinel.UPI. February 9, 1959. p. 3, part 2.
  5. ^"Austrian steals glory from French".Palm Beach Post.Associated Press. February 10, 1970. p. B-4.
  6. ^Waha, Eric (February 1, 1972)."Austrians seek to have Karl Schranz reinstated".Schenectady (NY) Gazette.Associated Press. p. 22.
  7. ^"Frustrated Karl Schranz retires".Montreal Gazette.Associated Press. February 16, 1972. p. 9.
  8. ^"Skier Schranz turns pro".Montreal Gazette.UPI. July 26, 1973. p. 32.
  9. ^"Karl Schranz to turn pro".Lewiston (ME) Daily Sun.Associated Press. July 26, 1973. p. 33.
  10. ^FIS Newsflash 205. November 19, 2008.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toKarl Schranz.
Awards
Preceded by Austrian Sportsman of the Year
1959 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Austrian Sportsman of the Year
1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Austrian Sportspersonality of the year
1970 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Schranz&oldid=1226045575"