Josef "Sepp" / "Bubi" Bradl (8 January 1918 – 3 March 1982) was an Austrian

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

who competed during the 1930s and 1950s. He was born in

Wasserburg am Inn Wasserburg am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Wassabuag am Inn'') is a town in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The historic centre is a peninsula formed by the meandering river Inn. Many Medieval structures remain intact, giving the city ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Career

on 15 March 1936, he became the first man in history to stand to stand on feet a "flight" of more than one hundred meters at 101.5 m (333 ft) on

Bloudkova velikanka Bloudkova velikanka ("Bloudek Giant"), also Bloudek-Rožmanova velikanka, is a large ski jumping hill in Planica, Slovenia, originally opened in 1934. In 2001 the hill collapsed and was completely rebuilt in 2012. A new normal hill (HS102) was als ...

hill in

Planica Planica () is an Alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking ...

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

. On 15 March 1938, exactly two years later after historic jump, he set another world record at 107 m (351 ft), this time again on

hill in

. He won the ski jumping gold medal at the 1939 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been p ...

while competing under

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in the wake of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...

being annexed in late 1938. Following World War II, Bradl wasn't allowed to compete in 1948 Olympics because he was a Sturmbannführer in the paramilitary Nazi organization

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment (military), Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing pro ...

. He returned to competition in the early 1950s and was the first winner of the

Four Hills Tournament The Four Hills Tournament (german: link=no, Vierschanzentournee) or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week (german: link=no, Deutsch-Österreichische Skisprung-Woche) is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in ...

in 1952/53, this time representing his home country of Austria. He would earn one of his post-war victories at the Olympia hill in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the ...

, West Germany in 1953 as part of the Four Hills tournament, then earn his final career victory the following year in

Bischofshofen Bischofshofen () is a town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg. It is an important traffic junction located both on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line and at the Tauern Autobahn, a major highway route cr ...

, Austria. On 3 March 1951, at the International Ski Flying Week competition, he set his personal best at 130 metres (430 ft) on

Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze (''Heini Klopfer Ski Flying Hill'') is a ski flying hill in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was opened in 1950, and was later renamed after its architect, Heini Klopfer. A total of 21 world records have been set on the hill. ...

hill in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. After retiring, he became a ski jumping coach, coaching the national teams of Germany and Austria. He lived in Mühlbach am Hochkönig in the province (state)

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

where he died in March 1982.

Ski jumping world records

First official fully standing jump over 100 metres in history. *On 17 March 1935, Olav Ulland as first ever broke hundred metres barrier at 103.5 m in

Ponte di Legno Ponte di Legno ( Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 1,729 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Geography Situated at the confluence of the two source rivers of the Oglio, Ponte di Legno is the uppermost comune of V ...

, but crashed.

References

External links

* 1918 births 1982 deaths People from Wasserburg am Inn Sportspeople from Upper Bavaria Austrian male ski jumpers Austrian ski jumping coaches FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping Olympic ski jumpers of Austria Ski jumpers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1956 Winter Olympics 20th-century Austrian people {{Austria-skijumping-bio-stub