5/17/2023 0 Comments Franz klammer 1976 olympics video![]() ![]() The Streif, a run with a 840 meter vertical drop and average 27% angle of decline with maximums of 40 degree inclines can break the will of the most courageous skier. In 1976, the Olympics came to Austria at Innsbruck, and fittingly, the one of the most epic two minutes in sport, the Men’s Downhill, was placed at the most demanding course for that event in the world, the Streif run on Hahnenkamm mountain in Kitzbuhel. The test for the Austrian athlete is demanding – win and be immortalized, or lose and be forgotten. As acts of profound human accomplishment in the face of overwhelming pressure, the Kaiser at Kitzbuhel has them all beat.Īustria is a nation of skiers and assumes their champions will represent the country as champions at the pinnacle of the sport. The story has all the components of an epic, the tension of watching something unbelievably special unfold. There have been many great downhills in my memory that etch intense memory, but nothing comes close to the accomplishment of Franz Klammer at the 1976 Winter Olympics. ![]() There is perhaps no more dangerous venue to the athlete than the Alpine Ski Downhill, and perhaps no less forgiving of an error. In some venues of course, the lack of violence does not imply the lack of pressure or the lack of danger. The Olympics, specifically, allowing nationalist fervor without the need for rancor. The venue is intense competition without violence. Sport is unique in that characteristic – creating a universally shared suspense and awe at what the athlete, challenged, can achieve. I have no doubt, though, that great accomplishments will soon take over from the other nonsense and give us some really stirring memories. Pictures of inadequate toilet facilities, rancid water, Olympic rings that don’t open and overbearing Russian presidents have distracted from the games inherent value, the celebration of human capacity and courage. The 2014 winter Olympics at Sochi has had its fair share of distractions somewhat obscuring the always interesting stories behind competitive sport. Franz Klammer 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics ![]()
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