4 Reasons Why You Should Know the Name Franz Klammer, "Kaiser Franz"
Farm boy, downhill king, and the man behind one of the most replayed runs in Olympic history. Here's why every ski fan should know the name Franz Klammer.
Early life & Rise to fame
Franz Klammer was born in 1953 in Mooswald, a tiny village in Carinthia, Austria, where his family ran a farm. He skied to school as a child (is there a better school commute?), and started racing at 14.
By the mid-70s he was simply unbeatable in the downhill. In the 1975 season he won 8 of the 9 downhills, and from January 1976 to January 1977 he won 10 downhills in a row. Austria had a new hero, soon to be known as "Kaiser Franz".
Credit: OSV-Archiv
4 reasons to know his name:
1. The greatest downhill run of all time?
Innsbruck, 1976. The Winter Olympics are in Austria, downhill is the national obsession, and 22-year-old Klammer is the overwhelming favourite. An estimated 60,000 fans lined the Patscherkofel. Starting 15th, he already knew the time to beat: 1:46.06, from reigning Olympic champion Bernhard Russi of Switzerland. Midway down, the splits said Klammer was behind. "I said to myself, 'Franz, now you have to do something because you're going to lose.' And then I completely changed the line." What followed was downhill skiing on the edge of disaster: arms flailing, skis chattering, somehow always one inch from a crash. He crossed the line in 1:45.73, 0.33 seconds ahead of Russi. Gold, in a yellow race suit that's now as iconic as the run itself.
2. King of Kitzbühel
A win on the Hahnenkamm is the Holy Grail of downhill racing, and Klammer won it four times, including three in a row from 1975 to 1977. Add 26 World Cup downhill victories and five World Cup downhill titles, and you've got one of the most decorated speed skiers in history.
Credit: IOC
3. The comeback
Klaus to this day still skis – albeit he had to wait 90 years before being given a life-long ski pass! He’s known to have skied every day of the season. For him, it’s a way of life that also keeps him young. In the past, he was known to skin up the mountain before sunrise to catch the first light over the Rockies, calling it “the best alarm clock in the world.”
Credit: APA/DPA/Bonner \ OSC-Archiv
4. A legacy beyond the race course
Klammer retired in 1985 with 45 World Cup podiums to his name. He went on to race touring cars and set up the Franz Klammer Foundation to support seriously injured athletes. The cause was personal: his brother Klaus suffered a spinal cord injury in a downhill crash. In 2021, his legendary 1976 run hit the big screen in Klammer: Chasing the Line, directed by Andreas Schmied with Julian Waldner as the young Franz.
Fearless, flamboyant and forever on the edge, Franz Klammer showed the world what downhill racing could be. In his own words:
“When I went out of the starting gate, I knew I was going to win that race. Whether I win it or crash, there was nothing in between.”