Andreas "Andi" Goldberger (born 29 November 1972) is an Austrian former
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 fin ...
.
In 1994 he became the first man in history to jump over
200 metres
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...
, but did not manage to stand.
Career
He won the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
overall titles three times (
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
,
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
), the
Four Hills Tournament twice (1992/93, 1994/95), with multiple medals in the
Nordic World Championships and
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...
.
Despite his success at ski jumping, Goldberger preferred
ski flying
Ski flying is a winter sport discipline derived from ski jumping, in which much greater distances can be achieved. It is a form of competitive individual sport, individual Nordic skiing where athletes descend at high speed along a specially de ...
—a more extreme version of normal ski jumping, in which distances are far greater.
History was made
On
17 March 1994, during training for the
Ski Flying World Championships on
Velikanka bratov Gorišek 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 hikin ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, he recorded a jump of 202 metres (663 ft); this made him the first man to ever to jump over two hundred metres, but he touched the snow upon landing, thus making the jump invalid as an official world record (Finland's
Toni Nieminen
Toni Markus Nieminen (born 31 May 1975) is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed from 1991 to 2004, with a brief comeback in 2016. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers from Finland, having won both the World Cup overall title and the ...
would later land a 203 m jump at the same event).
World record
On
18 March 2000, he set the ski jumping world record distance at
225 metres (738 ft) on
Velikanka bratov Gorišek 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 hikin ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
It stood for the next three years.
Controversy
In 1997 Goldberger admitted to the use of
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
, and was given a six-month ban from the
Austrian Ski Association. As a result of that ban, in November 1997, he even declared he would, from that moment on, compete under the flag of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
.
It's Not Easy To Be a Serb
Yet, after reaching an agreement with the Austrian Ski Association, he continued competing for his native Austria.
End of career
Goldberger last World Cup appearance as a ski jumper was in Lahti on 6 March 2005 (49 place).
In 2006 he officially ended his career with his final jump as a test jumper in Kulm, Austria.
After ending his ski jumping career he immediately became an expert co-commentator on the Austrian national TV station ORF, where he still works today.
World Cup
Standings
Wins
Ski jumping world records
Not recognized. Ground touch at world record distance, but first ever jump over 200 metres.
References
External links
*
* – click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberger, Andreas
1972 births
Austrian male ski jumpers
Austrian sportspeople in doping cases
Doping cases in ski jumping
Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners
Living people
Olympic bronze medalists for Austria
Olympic ski jumpers for Austria
Ski jumpers at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Ski jumpers at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Olympic medalists in ski jumping
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping
Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics
World record setters in ski flying
People from Ried im Innkreis District
20th-century Austrian people