Toni Sailer

Career

Born and raised in Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Sailer was nicknamed "Blitz from Kitz" (Blitz = German word for "bolt of lightning" or "flash"). He returned to championship form in 1955 at age 19 and the following year became the first to win all three alpine skiing events at the Olympics, taking gold in the downhill, slalom, and giant slalom by 3.5, 4.2 and 6.2 seconds, respectively. He was the fifth athlete to win three gold medals in the same Olympic games, and became the most successful athlete at the 1956 Winter Olympics. The Super-G event did not exist until the 1980s. It was added to the Olympics in 1988. Through 2014, Sailer remains the youngest male gold medalist in Olympic alpine skiing.

From 1948 through 1980, Olympic alpine ski events doubled as the FIS World Championships, therefore the Olympic champion in any event was also the world champion. The combined event was dropped after 1948 to make way for the giant slalom in 1950. No Olympic medals were awarded for the combined event from 1952 through 1984, but it was an FIS world championship from 1954 through 1980. During this era, it was conducted as a "paper" race, using the results of the three events. A stand-alone combined event returned to the world championships in 1982 and to the Olympics in 1988, with one run of downhill and two runs of slalom.

Two years after the 1956 Olympics, Sailer won three gold medals and one silver at the 1958 World Championships in Bad Gastein, Austria. He won five of six possible Olympic/World Championship races, missing a perfect record with a silver in the Bad Gastein slalom, seven-tenths of a second back. Sailer also repeated as champion in the combined for a seventh world title in two years. Due to controversy over his amateur status after receiving compensation for acting (and skiing) in movies, he retired from ski racing competition in 1959.

After racing

Sailer's business interests included ski clothing and equipment, including the first successful fiberglass skis, made in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1957–71, he appeared in a handful of movies, most of them shallow comedies at least partly set in alpine regions, with Sailer showing off his talent. In 1972–76, he was chief trainer and technical director of the Austrian Skiing Association (ÖSV). Occasionally, as late as 2003 he was noted for appearing in a number of TV episodes or made for TV movies. He also sang professionally for a time, making 18 record albums.

Sailer, although not associated with any political party, announced in January 2004 that he would run for Mayor of Kitzbühel. A few weeks later he withdrew his candidature, saying he had only now realized that being mayor was a full-time job. In 2006 he announced his retirement as chief of race of the Hahnenkamm Race, a position which he had occupied for 20 years.

Honors

Sailer was named Austrian Sportspersonality of the year in 1956, 1957, and 1958, and "Austrian Sportspersonality of the Century" in 1999. On 16 September 1958, he was featured on the cover of Bravo magazine.

For his contribution to the Olympic Movement, the International Olympic Committee awarded him the Bronze Olympic Order in 1982.

Personal life

Sailer married Gaby Rummeny in 1976 in Vancouver; she died of cancer in 2000. His second marriage, to Hedwig Fischer, lasted from 2006 until his death. His son Florian (by Rummeny) also survives him.

Death

It was announced in January 2008 that Sailer had laryngeal cancer, for which he had been undergoing chemotherapy in the preceding months. He died of cancer in Innsbruck, aged 73, in 2009, and was buried in Kitzbühel. His funeral ceremonies took place near the Hahnenkamm finish line.

Selected filmography

• A Piece of Heaven (1957)
• A Thousand Stars Aglitter (1959)
• Twelve Girls and One Man (1959)
• Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon (1961)
• Sein bester Freund (1962)
• Sansone e il tesoro degli Incas (1964)
• Das Blaue vom Himmel (1964, TV film)
• Ski Fever (1966)
• Aunt Trude from Buxtehude (1971)
• Holidays in Tyrol (1971)
• Wenn das die Nachbarn wüßten (1991)
• Almenrausch und Pulverschnee (1993, TV series)

References

References

1. {{cite Sports-Reference. link
2. Rospigliosi, William. (13 February 1956). "Beau of Cortina".
3. Litsky, Frank. (26 August 2009). "Toni Sailer, record-setting gold medal skier, dies at 73". New York Times.
4. Wernick, Robert. (17 February 1958). "Bad day at Bad Gastein".
5. Williams, Eric. (15 September 2009). "The end of an era, Toni Sailer dead at 73".
6. (26 August 2009). "Toni Sailer dies at 73; Austrian skier won all 3 Alpine golds at '56 Olympics". Los Angeles Times.
7. (4 January 1959). "Toni Sailer ranked No. 1 in skiing". Pittsburgh Press.
8. Ball, Robert. (21 November 1960). "Racing toward riches".
9. Morrill, Greg. (13 February 2011). "Sailer Skis". RetroSki.
10. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0756539/ Toni Sailer]. IMDb
11. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/toni-sailer-olympic-skiing-champion-of-grace-and-power-who-went-on-to-a-career-in-films-and-pop-music-1779727.html Toni Sailer: Olympic skiing champion of grace and power who went on to a career in films and pop music] [[The Independent]], Retrieved 20 April 2010
12. Carlson, Michael. (31 August 2009). "Toni Sailer: Olympic skiing champion of grace and power who went on to a career in films and pop music". The Independent.
13. {{austriaforum. AEIOU/Sportler%2C_Sportlerin_des_Jahres/Sportler%2C_Sportlerin_des_Jahres_english. Sportswoman/man of the year
14. "BRAVO 38/58, 16.09.1958".
15. Williams, Richard. (31 August 2009). "Obituary: Toni Sailer". The Guardian.
16. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090828010324/http://www.abendzeitung.de/sport/mehr_sport/127791 Toni Sailer: "Wenn der Tod kommt, dann kommt er"]. abendzeitung.de. 25 August 2009
17. [http://www.oe24.at/zeitung/leute/article211171.ece Toni Sailer hat Kehlkopfkrebs]. Oe24.at (12 January 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-02.
18. Rugh, Pete. (27 August 2009). "Sailer funeral set at Hahnenkamm finish".