Franz Heinzer (born April 11, 1962 in

Rickenbach, Schwyz Rickenbach is a village in the municipality of Schwyz, itself in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. It lies some to the east of the town centre of Schwyz. The ''Rotenfluebahn'', a gondola lift, links Rickenbach with the summit of the Rotenfl ...

, Switzerland) is a former

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

, who specialized in

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

. He was

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 concept i ...

champion in downhill three consecutive seasons (

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

), second only to

Franz Klammer Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975– 78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbr ...

(4 consecutive). He won a total of 15 World Cup downhill races, fourth behind Klammer (25), Peter Müller (19) and

Stephan Eberharter Stephan "Steff" Eberharter (born 24 March 1969) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Biography Born in Brixlegg, Tyrol, Eberharter was the winner of the overall World Cup title in 2002 and 2003, as well as the season titles in d ...

(18). Together with

Toni Sailer Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer (17 November 1935 – 24 August 2009) was an Austrian alpine ski racer, considered among the best in the sport. At age 20, he won all three gold medals in alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics. He nearly duplica ...

, Jean Claude Killy,

Karl Schranz Karl Schranz (born 18 November 1938) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria, one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s. Born and raised in St. Anton, Tyrol, Schranz had a lengthy ski career, from 1957 to 1972. He won twenty majo ...

and

, he is considered among the best downhill racers of all time. He also won the season title in

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

in 1991.

Career

Heinzer won at the world's most famous downhill venues: Kitzbühel (3x),

Wengen Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells ...

Val Gardena Val Gardena (; german: Gröden ; lld, Gherdëina ) is a valley in Northern Italy, in the Dolomites of South Tyrol. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area. Geography The valley's main river is the Derjon, a ...

(2x),

Garmisch 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 O ...

Val-d'Isère Val-d'Isère (, literally ''Valley of Isère'') is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department ( Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region) in southeastern France. It lies from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise Na ...

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

, Lake Louise, and

St. Anton Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to , yielding a vertical drop of . It is also a popular su ...

. His victory in the downhill event at the 1991 World Championships came after three fourth places at previous championships (

Schladming Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the ...

(

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

Bormio Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellin ...

(

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) and

Crans-Montana Crans-Montana is a municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of Chermignon, Mollens, Montana and Randogne merged to form the new municipality of Crans-Montana. Cr ...

(

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

). He didn't compete in the downhill at

Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, his right binding released at the starting gate, putting him out of the downhill race. A month later, Heinzer retired from international competition at age 31 with 17 World Cup victories and 45 podiums. He now runs his own sports products company in Altdorf, and since the winter of

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, also works as the assistant coach of Swiss national downhill team. The ''Franz Heinzer Piste'' in the Swiss ski resort of

Stoos Stoos is a village located in the municipality of Morschach. It lies at in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Schwyz, Schwyz and has about 100 inhabitants (population was counted at 106 during a 2007 census). It is used as a small ski ...

, a

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a ...

-approved downhill run on the Klingenstock, is named in his honour.

World Cup results

Season standings

Season titles

4 season titles: 3

, 1

super G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event du ...

Individual races

17 race victories: 15

, 2

combined Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinzer, Franz Swiss male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Switzerland Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics 1962 births Living people FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Sportspeople from the canton of Schwyz