Fritz Tschannen (13 May 1920 – 23 March 2011) was a Swiss accordion player and former ski jumper born in Saint-Imier, who competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.[1] He received his first accordion at the age of five and gave his first solo concert three years later. By the age of 18 he was working as an accordion teacher,[2] in addition to ski jumping out of Skiclub Adelboden.
| Fritz Tschannen | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Switzerland |
| Born | 13 May 1920 Saint-Imier, Switzerland |
| Died | 23 March 2011 (aged 90) Val-de-Travers, Switzerland |
| Ski club | SC Adelboden |
| Personal best | 120 m (390 ft) Planica, Yugoslavia (15 March 1948) |
Career
editHe joined the Swiss National Team in 1945 and attended the Winter Olympic Games three years later, where he placed ninth in a field of forty-nine competitors in the men's normal hill event. The same year he became the Swiss national champion.[1] On 15 March 1948 he set a new world record distance with a jump of 120 metres (394 ft) at Bloudkova velikanka hill in Planica, Yugoslavia.[3][4]
Personal life
editAfter his experience at the Olympics, Tschannen was invited to train with the United States team, but moved to Canada when he was denied a work visa because of the ongoing Korean War. He had a career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1952–1954 as a musician and orchestrator, including a stint with his own French-language television show. He returned to his native country in 1964 and founded a musical school in the city of Bex. He worked as a conductor until 1999, when he retired to the municipality of Fleurier.[2] He died in Val-de-Travers in March 2011.[5]
Ski jumping world record
edit| Date | Hill | Location | Metres | Feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 March 1948 | Bloudkova velikanka K120 | Planica, Yugoslavia | 120 | 394 |
References
edit- ^ a b Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (June 2016). "Fritz Tschannen Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- ^ a b Reift, Marc. "Fritz Tschannen" (PDF). Editions Marc Reift. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Lepi uspehi naših skakalcev v Planici". Slovenski poročevalec (in Slovenian). 17 March 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Švicar Tschannen je s skokom 120 m postavil nov svetovni rekord..." Ljudska pravic (in Slovenian). 16 March 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Tschannen, Fritz (1920-2011)". Dictionnaire de Jura. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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