Alfred Rainer (22 September 1987, in

Saalfelden Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer is a town in the district of Zell am See in the Austrian state of Salzburg. With approximately 16,000 inhabitants, Saalfelden is the district's largest town and the third of the federal state after Salzburg and Hallein ...

– 16 August 2008, in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

) was a World Cup competitor representing Austria in the

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

event.

Career

Rainer represented Austria in the 2006 Junior World Cup, securing a silver medal, and in 2007 at the same event Rainer won team gold and two individual bronze medals. He competed in his first World Cup at

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the 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 ...

finishing 11th. Rainer was ranked 34th in the Nordic Combined World Cup standings for the season ending March 2007, and 24th for the season ending March 2008.

Death

On August 7, 2008, Rainer was paragliding over his home town of Maria Alm. He got into difficulty at approximately 20 meters (66 ft) and crashed. He was taken to hospital in

, where he was found to have numerous broken bones. He subsequently was placed in a deep coma, and died on August 16, 2008 as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

Personal life

Rainer had previously been a soldier in the Austrian Army and a joiner. He spoke both German and English and enjoyed a range of hobbies, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, movies, music,

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and

bicycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainer, Alfred 1987 births 2008 deaths Sport deaths in Austria Austrian male Nordic combined skiers Austrian soldiers People from Saalfelden Skiers from Salzburg (federal state)