Franz klammer 1976 plus#

The small, traditional resort of Bad Kleinkirchheim (dubbed BKK by British visitors) has been good to Klammer. 'Where isВ our snowboarder? Oh,В there you areВ already. As heВ stops to wait for stragglers, and IВ sitВ down to take a breather, he peersВ uphill over my head. SoВ it's ridiculously gratifying when myВ attempts to channel some ofВ the reckless speed ofВ his Innsbruck triumph (which I'veВ been looping on YouTube) start to pay off, even allowing me, at one glorious moment, to burn off his annoyingly accomplished tangerine shadow. With snowboards inherently around 20% slower than skis, I know I'll have my work cut out just to keep Klammer in my sights, and for the first couple ofВ runs, I only come close to his virtually turn-free tracks at the regularВ stops heВ makes to allow us allВ to regroup. Gentle slopes вЂ¦ Bad KleinkirchheimвЂ™s 103km ski network is ideal for beginners and leisurely intermediates. The man they call 'The Kaiser', however, is a master of social ease and banters good-humouredly with everyone around him, reminiscing about his competitive glory days, discussing his more recent passions for golf and cycling, and voicing concern for the sanitised dullness of today's 'too business-like' downhill racing scene. This makes for some initial awkwardness, as we all pretend not to be desperate to share his chairlift, apart from a Viennese Mrs Robinson in snug tangerine ski pants who swiftly sidles into the Klammer-flanking position she will maintain for most of the day.

Franz klammer 1976 plus#

His still-unsurpassed achievements in Austria's national sport вЂ“ 26 World Cup wins plus a legendary hell-for-leather Olympic victory in Innsbruck in 1976 вЂ“make him something akin to PelГ© in his country, but he arrives with no surly manager, no controlling PR and no security. Add to that his status as the greatest downhill skier in history, and the annual ski day he hosts in his boyhood resort for a group of lucky punters chosen in a lottery, and it sends a frisson of macho glamour into the crisp Carinthian air. Though I wouldn't apply this piece of zoological trivia to the huddle of excited skiers, among them a significant number of expensively maintained femmes d'un certain Гўge, waiting to meet their hero at the Kaiserburgbahn lift station in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, early one winter morning.ДЄt 60, Franz Klammer remains a charismatic and ruggedly dishy figure, along Liam Neeson lines. One of those he inspired was at the London screening.Д«enni Raich is another Austrian ski racing legend with 36 World Cup wins and 14 Olympic & World Championships medals.B ecause they live and hunt alone, there is no collective noun for cougars. вЂњTheyвЂ™re looking up to me and IвЂ™m the idol and IвЂ™m very proud that I could inspire many, many people going skiing.вЂќ вЂњIвЂ™m very proud about that and IвЂ™m proud that I could inspire many, many young kids to take up racing,вЂќ he said. It became known as the Klammer style and he is credited with being the first racer to carve the top of the turn to the bottom of the turn. He famously decided вЂњon the spotвЂќ that he had to do something different and chose to ride the net rather than take a tight racing line as he would usually do.

вЂ¦Emotions up and downвЂ¦ but when I got into the starting gate, I knew, IвЂ™m going to win and I think the film shows it quite well.вЂќ вЂњI never did post the fastest time so I was really struggling and every day I was getting slower and slower and slower. Klammer said the title of the film was well chosen as he had been chasing the right line all week in training ahead of the big day. Franz Klammer at the London premiere of Klammer Chasing the Line вЂ“ photo В© PlanetSKI