Franz Krienbühl (24 March 1929 – 16 April 2002) was a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
speed skater who is mostly known for his inventions that changed the sport.
Starting his international sporting career only in his late thirties at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
of
Grenoble, Krienbühl mostly skated at the back of the field. However, in 1974, he introduced the one-piece skin suit into speed skating. In spite of the fact that he improved his times dramatically, he was initially laughed at. However, when other skaters also showed improvement, the top skaters quickly switched to the suits as well. Krienbühl also introduced minor improvements for skates.
Krienbühl's best performance was the eighth position on the 10,000 m at the
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...
. He stopped speed skating internationally at age 48 the next season, though he continued to skate competitively until 1986. During his career, he won at least 14 Swiss Allround Championships. In 1989, Krienbühl was severely injured in a cycling accident. He died in April 2002, aged 73.
References
Franz Krienbühl at SkateResults.com
External links
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1929 births
2002 deaths
Swiss male speed skaters
Speed skaters at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Speed skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics
Olympic speed skaters of Switzerland
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