Josef "Pepi" Stiegler (born 20 April 1937 in Lienz, Austria) is a former alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. He was a member of the Austrian national ski team during the late 1950s and early 1960s and was one of the world's premier racers.[1] His two children were on the U.S. Ski Team: daughter Resi (b. 1985) was on the World Cup team and son Seppi (b. 1988) was on the Nor-Am circuit.

Pepi Stiegler
Full nameJosef Stiegler
Born (1937-04-20) 20 April 1937 (age 87)
Lienz, Austria
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing  Austria
Olympic Games   &
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1964 Innsbruck Slalom
Silver medal – second place 1960 Squaw Valley Giant Slalom
Bronze medal – third place 1964 Innsbruck Giant Slalom

At the 1960 Winter Olympics of Squaw Valley, Stiegler won a silver medal in the giant slalom and took fifth place in the slalom. At the 1964 Winter Olympics of Innsbruck, he took the bronze medal in giant slalom at Axamer Lizum and then won the gold in slalom, edging out American medalists Billy Kidd and Jimmie Heuga.[1] - He became "Austrian sportsman of the Year 1964".

Pepi Stiegler later made appearances at many ski events in the United States and wrote articles for ski magazines. In 1965, he became the first ski school director at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he served for 29 years, followed by eight years as ambassador of skiing. He stepped down in 2002 after 37 years with the resort.

Similar to Heuga, Stiegler was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1993.[1][2][3] Austrian teammate Egon Zimmermann, gold medalist in the 1964 Olympic downhill, also has MS.

At age 66, Stiegler earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Montana State University in Bozeman in May 2003.[4][5]

Olympic results

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  Year    Age   Slalom   Giant 
 slalom 
Super-G Downhill Combined
1960 22 5 2 not run 15 not run
1964 26 1 3

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.

Video

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  • You Tube – Stiegler: The Style of A Champion (1974 film)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Dorworth, Dick (November 1995). "The quiet legend". SKI. pp. 89–92.
  2. ^ Wallechinsky, David; Jaime Loucky (2005). The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books. ISBN 1-894963-45-8
  3. ^ "Pepi steps down". Jackson Hole News & Guide. March 13, 2002. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  4. ^ Cannon, Ben (August 12, 2009). "At home with Pepi". Jackson Hole Weekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  5. ^ McDonald, Brenda (May 8, 2003). "Former Olympian goes for graduation gold". Montana State University. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
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Awards
Preceded by Austrian Sportsman of the Year
1964
Succeeded by