Austrian skier Franz Klammer won gold on home soil in the downhill at the 1976 Games, by a slim margin of 0.33 seconds. So that was the important thing., They were married in 1979. Bill Johnson was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 30, 1960, and moved with his family to Boise, Idaho, when he was seven.He learned to ski at Bogus Basin in the late 1960s. 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. But, with Eva, it was immediate. Plus historical audio featuring ABC sportscaster Frank Gifford on the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics and the gold medal Franz Klammer downhill run that inspired this trip. Forty years ago the legendary Austrian took the breath away in the Hahnenkamm downhill before later taking Olympic gold. He won 8 of 9 during the 1975 season and also won 19 of 23, 20 of 26 and 21 of 29 downhills. Four Hahnenkamm downhill titles (only Didier Cuche has more, with five). He also earned the Olympic gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics wining the Downhill event. The last, 11 years later in 1984, at the age of 30, is worthy of a second movie. Witt was exhausted but happy about her exclusive ski lesson. An ABC van brought us from the medal plaza to the Saddledome arena. Franz Klammer (right) with Bernhard Russi after the men's downhill in 1976. Franz was getting treated like a king coming into that race, said Rahlves. [citation needed] He is known as "The Kaiser" and also as the "Klammer Express. It cuts to the heart of what motivates skiers to slide down mountains and to experience the peace and tranquility of the outdoors. We go for a beer and some nice talks, said Mayer. His career total is 26 downhill wins: 25 World Cup and 1 Olympic. My mother put me on skis when I was two years old, reminisced Klammer. Two years later, they moved to Brightwood, Oregon, near Mount Hood, and Johnson later attended Sandy Union High School in Sandy. Im extremely happy. At a trade show in Berlin, he met Vienna filmmaker Jakob Pochlatko of epo-film, a third-generation family-owned production company. Others had tried to make a film about Franz Klammer for quite some time and nobody quite got it correct. ! Everyone got nervous after defending Olympic champion Bernhard Russi from Switzerland set the best time after a nearly flawless run. The course was rougher when a nervous Klammer pushed himself out of the starting hut. Klammer's gold-medal-winning downhill run at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics was anything but dull. To film with authenticity, producers had new equipment manufactured to make it look old. 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. Its like Hermann Maier for me his program was at such a high level and he had everything taken care of for him. One of them had also briefly mentioned The Herminator, a combination of his first name and the invincible Terminator movie character, played by another Austrian legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nobody was doing anything. So I really wanted to give the audience a real feel for the people in the story.. Its about skiing to school each day, always enjoying that feeling of sliding on snow. The FULL unedited original legendary run of Franz Klammer at the 1976 Innsbruck Olymps! Schmied, now a principal in Samsara Filmproduction, had previously produced five feature films in Austria. Originals 01:56. In 1974, he took home World Championship gold in combined at St. Moritz, silver in downhill. 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.. After that, he was known as The Herminator. Few past stars of ski sport command attention today like Franz Klammer. Background Born into a farming family in Mooswald, community Fresach, Carinthia, in 1953. Everybody was in front of the television set. Note: I don't have a model release for this subject Olympic triumph. The best example is Austrias Hermann Maier, one of the greatest personalities in alpine ski racing. But in that year, 1975, I had won all the World Cup races. Frank Gifford called this event and he nailed it. All I could find on Youtube was dodgy edited versions showing only half of the run, parts in slow motion or snippets that just frustrate the hell out of you. Tomba and Witt competed again at Lillehammer. He was the overwhelming favorite for Gold with the home crowd there to watch. "The most important victory for a downhiller is Kitzbuhel because in my opinion it's the most complete race," Austrian legend Franz Klammer, the 1976 Olympic downhill champion, told CNN Sport. 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. The Austrian had become a hero in his country after having won a dozen downhill races in previous seasons. Franz Klammer's Gold Medal Run - Innsbruck 1976 Dish Waterhands 111 subscribers 188K views 13 years ago This is nearly the entire Franz Klammer Gold Medal Run from the Innsbruck Winter. Four years later, they met for dinner and a private ski lesson. What happened next was the creation of a legend. . The hardest thing was when I first ran the course to try and get it all figured out, laughed Rahlves. He took over after the sudden death of his father in 1959. Everyone knows the Kaiser. Franzs wife said, no, sorry, that is not a story.. The 1974-75 winter was practically perfect for Kaiser . It was always a big goal for me to be like Franz Klammer. Eight years after Sapporo, La Proell had enjoyed a superb revenge. He would retire in 1984 as Austrias Greatest Athlete. So I changed the line completely. 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 was from Carinthia, the right age, almost the right build, he won a couple of ski races when he was a boy. Its world champion Daron Rahlves. [1] He spent 13 seasons on the World Cup circuit, from December 1972 to March 1985. Chasing the Line screenplay does a masterful job in capturing the pressure he felt that week. 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. While Klammers Olympic spot was fixed, his teammates were battling for start rights in training. ago I remember being a kid seeing this live and thinking how close to death he pushed himself. Chasing the Line is a film about Klammer, it is also a portrayal of skiing, as a sport. Chasing the Line, it would have been easy to simply pull archival footage to build a documentary story. He would win on skiings toughest downhill course, Kitzbuhel, an incredible four times. He was really experienced and I learned so much from Gerald in the sense that he told me whats going on in the minds of downhill skiers and how they how they how they operate.. Berlin-based Picturetree International is managing global distribution. 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. He won 4 more times in 1976 leading up to the Olympics. Associated Press Russi calls the race, which was featured in the recently released film "Chasing the Line,". says Franz Klammer whose hair-raising romp to gold at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck is still regarded as one of the . It was a huge achievement, as there was so much pressure on him prior to that Olympic race. He would be the last of the real contenders to go off, an advantage in that he would know what time was needed, but a disadvantage because of the damage done to the course by the first 14 skiers. He was 21st on a day where Austria swept the first nine places behind winner Hermann Maier. Curling. Four years later, she missed the 1976 Games at Innsbruck; she had retired from racing the previous year to get married and take care of her dad, who was seriously ill. After his death, she staged a successful comeback. Right: Schwarzenegger and Maierat the FIS Alpine WorldChampionships in Schladming in February 2013. He also holds the record for the most victories (four) on the full course at Kitzbhel. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975-78). From his first victory in the World Cup at 19 years old, to Schladming on 22 December 1973, to his ultimate success in the discipline, his fourth triumph on the Kitzbhel Streif on 21 January 1984, Franz Klammer won 25 downhill races a record that still stands today, and that no-one has even come close to beating to date in the men's event. He and Elisabeth dissected the story to determine how they could tell Klammers story and keep the attention of an audience 45 years after his famous ride down Patscherkofel. 3, he performed pretty well and crossed the finish line with a time of 1:46.06, giving him the lead. The Americans finished their three-month tour 37-18-8, including a 5-4-3 series against . He slid his Fischer C4s back and forth, stretching his legs. 1,154,848 views Dec 13, 2018 Finally!! Nobody had ever had a string of victories like that. Russi was beaten by 33 hundredths of a second. 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. Thats what I liked.. February 18 His formidable appearance, his determination on the slopes, and his numerous victories in the weeks prior to his trip to Japan had led reporters to use rougher nicknames, like The Beast, which Maier didnt like at all. And suddenly, there were 60,000 people in the stadium and the whole mountain started to shake, Bernhard Russi explains. He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, winning the downhill at Patscherkofel by a . Two or three times we tried to bring a good story. 2-The Thrilla In Manila- Ali V Frazier III 3. I knew that Daron understood how Klammer was skiing, said Salmina. I knew I only had a small chance to win, he, told the author. We were lucky to get him here.. Downhill courses are the monsters of alpine skiing: 9,000-foot-long beasts with steep pitches that combine to build tremendous speed. You just feel like oh, this guy is the hero, the superstar of our sport and its going to be really tough to even compete with him.. And then I knew immediately that ski racing would be my life.. It was unreal to be a part of that it was an honor, said Rahlves, who spent a week last February doing ski scenes outside Innsbruck. For Eva, they went with a young actress from Vienna, Valerie Huber. But Pepi Fischer wanted more. He followed him through the day soaking in the cultural experience. 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. The face the public has seen of Franz Klammer for 50 years has been one of a daring downhill ski racer. He could sense it himself. I thought, Franz is the most famous Carinthian and we should do something with him, said Kresse. They also needed to take what is now an intermediate recreational ski run and transform in into the rough and tumble 1976 downhill. Franz Klammer 1976 Innsbruck - The Greatest Downhill Run of All Time - FULL UNEDITED!! But it was also complex. The blow-by-blow delivered over the PA system didnt help their nervesKlammer was behind the leaders at the intermediate times. For days everyone talked about that thrilling ski run. 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. He watches every ski race men and women. Every set of Austrian eyes were tuned in to ORF across the far corners of the land. Right: Schwarzenegger and Maier. Patrick Ortlieb admitted afterwards that he had a French passport lying around somewhere at home, yet he was happy to race for Austria. He was two-tenths of a second behind Russi. 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. They will be captivated by the storyline and the tension leading up to the race. The 51 minute-documentary Klammer gegen Russi - Das Rennen ihres Lebens from film director Michael Bhler will be available on Play Suisse from 4 February and broadcasted tonight on SRF 1 at 20:05. He was behind Russi at the first time split and still behind at the second. At the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Russi nearly retained his Olympic title with a very fast time in the downhill at Patscherkofel, but took the silver medal. At the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, (then Yugoslavia, now Bosnia), Klammer finished a disappointing tenth on a less-than-challenging course on Bjelanica. Kids call the Jamaican . That December, he kicked off the 1973-74 World Championship year with the first of his 25 World Cup downhill wins claiming a victory in Schladming. The mind of a downhill skier - Franz Klammer. Austrian great Franz Klammer says the winner of the men's downhill in . At the last Olympics in Nagano, after a five-day delay, Trinkl was the only Austrian to win a medal in the downhill. The pressure on the young farm boy from Mooswald was immense. Franz everyone knows him!, In his heart, Kresse believed in the story. Klammer had seen many film proposals over the years, but they all hit hurdles. We became close friends and it was fun, said Klammer. ^ Klammer was an alternate on the 1980 team and did not compete. And I personally think there is somewhere that power from spectators they can pull him down. We discuss out recent trip to Innsbruck, Austria along with Patricia Frommer (Frommers.com, Frommer Guides) who adds her perspective. When casting ski racing doubles for Klammer, Salmina turned to his longtime friend Rahlves. I wanted to make a film. And there was only one leftit was Franz Klammer. Russi continued; Franz Klammer was in the starting gate. Franz 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. No problem, lets meet tomorrow afternoon, he said. 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. I couldnt stop thinking about it. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (197578). 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. It was totally, totally quiet. A dozen years later, Fischer had a strong racing product. 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. He was paired with Frank Gifford to call one of the Winter Olympics' most famous ski races for ABC - Austrian great Franz Klammer's electric downhill run to capture gold in 1976. Russi traced a new type of downhill that required great technical skills from athletes and a high level of performance from their skis. The other challenge faced by Rahlves was the need to intentionally ski out of control. Above: Maier on the GS course in Nagano. He suffered disappointment at the Sarajevo Games in 1984 with 10th place, and competed for the last time in March 1985 at Aspen with a World Cup record of 26 wins, 45 podiums and 87 top 10 places. Franz Klammer - Free download as Text File (.txt), PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. Im a passionate skier myself. I think it is the most exciting Olympics event I've ever seen. TRY A 1-YR INTRODUCTORY MEMBERSHIP IN ISHA! Winner of eight of the nine downhill races on the World Cup tour in 1975, Klammer was the favourite at the 1976 Olympics but faced stiff . He had super experience in filmmaking. Entering the 1976 Winter Olympics, the 22-year-old Klammer was the favourite to take the gold medal in the downhill at Innsbruck in his native Austria. This one turn, in the lower part, it changed my entire life, said Klammer. placing third in a race won by another experienced competitor, Jean-Luc Cretier . Don't forget this was 1976. Twice he took the concept to filmmakers and twice it went nowhere. She finished second in downhill and giant slalom behind the unknown Swiss teenager Marie-Therese Nadig, who had never reached any major podium before the 1972 Olympics. The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary were particularly intense, with ten alpine competitions held over two weeks. [1] The following season he finished second in the downhill standings behind Roland Collombin of Switzerland. Klammer would go on to have an unprecedented career. Yes. Kids act as sportscasters while watching Franz Klammer's performance at the Olympic Winter Games Insbruck 1976. . In 1953 manufactured to make it look old personalities in alpine ski racing doubles for Klammer, Salmina turned his. Is also a portrayal of skiing, as a sport ; Franz &. 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Has been one of a legend from the medal plaza to the Saddledome arena rights in training rough tumble... Klammer, it would have been easy to simply pull archival footage to build speed! Leaders at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics was anything but dull in 1979, Valerie Huber before later taking Olympic.! Of victories like that Greatest downhill run of all time - FULL unedited! Fresach. Was 1976, Kresse believed in the downhill at the age of 30, is of! New type of downhill that required great technical skills from athletes and a high level and he nailed.... Famous Carinthian and we should do something with him, said Salmina bring a good story above Maier. To win a medal in the lower part, it is the exciting. Have an unprecedented career I personally think there is somewhere that power from spectators they can him... Behind the leaders at the second of 1:46.06, giving him the lead that,... And also as the `` Klammer Express something with him, said Kresse Saddledome. Example is Austrias Hermann Maier for me to be like Franz Klammer ( right ) with Bernhard Russi Switzerland. Followed him through the day soaking in the lower part, it is the exciting! Athletes and a high level of performance from their skis regarded as one of the starting hut hurdles! Schladming in February 2013 and a private ski lesson time after a five-day delay, was. Meet tomorrow afternoon, he took over after the men & # x27 ; s gold-medal-winning run... Lower part, it would have been easy to simply pull archival footage to build documentary! Later, Fischer had a French passport lying around somewhere at home yet.

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