![]() "Toni did great things for Austria and for skiing as a sport," Maier told APA. "As a small boy, I wanted to be just like him," he was quoted as saying by the Austria Press Agency.įour-time World Cup overall champion Hermann Maier said he would never forget his encounters with Sailer and admired the way he dealt with his unidentified illness. Franz Klammer, the 1976 Olympic downhill gold medallist, said he idolized Sailer as a child. Other Austrian ski stars expressed sadness at the news. Franz Klammer’s incredible downhill run 1976 Innsbruck Olympics 1976 link to video below. In 1999, Sailer was honoured as Austria's sportsman of the century. in Entertainment, Olympics, Sports, Television.Sailer was awarded the Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee in 1985. In both years, he also won downhill gold at Switzerland's Lauberhorn piste. He also served as the race director of the prestigious Hahnenkamm competition, where he won the downhill race in 1957 and the giant slalom in 1958. He produced skis in Canada and served as technical director of the Austrian Ski Federation between 19. Due to his speed, he became known as "the black lightning bolt from Kitz."Īfter retiring from competition in 1959, Sailer became a singer and an actor. Sailer - who reportedly strapped on skis for the first time when he was two years old - also won gold in the downhill, giant slalom and combined, as well as silver in the slalom, at the world championships in Bad Gastein, Austria two years later. ![]() 'As a small boy, I wanted to be just like him.'-Franz Klammer on Toni Sailer At the world championships there, he took gold in the downhill, slalom, giant slalom and combined. Sailer won the downhill, slalom and giant slalom at the 1956 Cortina Olympics in Italy. In Austria, where skiing is a national pastime, Sailer's death symbolized the end of an era.Īustrian President Heinz Fischer issued a statement paying tribute to Sailer as "a top athlete who already became a legend during his lifetime." Sailer passed away in Innsbruck on Monday after a long illness, his Kitzbuehel Ski Club said Tuesday. ![]() Austrian skiing great Toni Sailer, who in 1956 became the first skier to win all three Alpine gold medals at a Winter Olympics, has died at age 73. ![]()
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