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Franz Heinzer (born 11 April 1962 in Rickenbach, Schwyz, Switzerland) is a former alpine ski racer, who specialized in downhill. He was World Cup champion in downhill three consecutive seasons (1991, 1992, 1993), second only to Franz Klammer (4 consecutive). He won a total of 15 World Cup downhill races, fourth behind Klammer (25), Peter Müller (19) and Stephan Eberharter (18). Together with Franz Klammer, Toni Sailer, Jean Claude Killy, Karl Schranz and Stephan Eberharter, he is considered among the best downhill racers of all time. He also won the season title in Super-G in 1991.
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | April 11, 1962 Rickenbach, Schwyz, Switzerland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Downhill, Super G, Combined | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 1981 – (age 18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | March 1994 – (age 31) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 – (1988–94) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 6 – (1982–93) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (1 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 14 – (1981–94) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 17 – (15 DH, 2 K) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 4 – (3 DH, 1 SG) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editHeinzer won at the world's most famous downhill venues: Kitzbühel (3x), Wengen, Val Gardena (2x), Garmisch, Val-d'Isère, Aspen, Lake Louise, and St. Anton. His victory in the downhill event at the 1991 World Championships came after three fourth places at previous championships (Schladming (1982), Bormio (1985) and Crans-Montana (1987). He didn't compete in the downhill at Vail in 1989. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, his right binding released at the starting gate, putting him out of the downhill race.[1]
A month later, Heinzer retired from international competition at age 31 with 17 World Cup victories and 45 podiums. He now runs his own sports products company in Altdorf, and since the winter of 2004, also works as the assistant coach of Swiss national downhill team.[2]
The Franz Heinzer Piste in the Swiss ski resort of Stoos, a FIS-approved downhill run on the Klingenstock, is named in his honour.[3]
World Cup results
editSeason standings
edit| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 18 | 36 | — | — | not run |
10 | — |
| 1982 | 19 | 26 | — | — | 10 | — | |
| 1983 | 20 | 26 | — | 19 | not awarded |
19 | 9 |
| 1984 | 21 | 6 | — | 18 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1985 | 22 | 5 | — | 36 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1986 | 23 | 13 | — | — | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| 1987 | 24 | 12 | — | — | 25 | 3 | — |
| 1988 | 25 | 8 | — | — | 16 | 3 | 13 |
| 1989 | 26 | 31 | — | — | 20 | 14 | — |
| 1990 | 27 | 17 | — | — | 21 | 7 | 21 |
| 1991 | 28 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1992 | 29 | 5 | — | — | 7 | 1 | — |
| 1993 | 30 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — |
| 1994 | 31 | 36 | — | — | 29 | 16 | — |
Season titles
edit4 season titles: 3 downhill, 1 super G
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Downhill |
| Super-G | |
| 1992 | Downhill |
| 1993 | Downhill |
Individual races
edit17 race victories: 15 downhill, 2 combined
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 19 December 1982 | Val Gardena, Italy | Combined |
| 1984 | 9 December 1983 | Val-d'Isère, France | Downhill |
| 10 December 1983 | Combined | ||
| 1986 | 22 February 1986 | Åre, Sweden | Downhill |
| 1987 | 4 January 1987 | Laax, Switzerland | Downhill |
| 1988 | 11 March 1988 | Beaver Creek, USA | Downhill |
| 1991 | 14 December 1990 | Val Gardena, Italy | Downhill |
| 12 January 1991 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Downhill | |
| 8 March 1991 | Aspen, USA | Downhill | |
| 16 March 1991 | Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill | |
| 1992 | 14 December 1991 | Val Gardena, Italy | Downhill |
| 17 January 1992 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Downhill | |
| 18 January 1992 | Downhill | ||
| 25 January 1992 | Wengen, Switzerland | Downhill | |
| 1993 | 10 January 1993 | Garmisch, Germany | Downhill |
| 16 January 1993 | St. Anton, Austria | Downhill | |
| 23 January 1993 | Veysonnaz, Switzerland | Downhill |
References
edit- ^ "YouTube video: Franz Heinzer, 1994 Olympic downhill". Eurosport. 13 February 1994. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Franz Heinzer". Swiss Ski team. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Franz Heinzer Piste". myswitzerland.com. Switzerland Tourism. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
External links
edit- Franz Heinzer at FIS (alpine)
- Franz Heinzer at Olympedia
- Franz Heinzer at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
