Heinrich "Heini" Messner (1 September 1939 – 19 October 2023) was an Austrian
alpine skier
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 ...
. He competed at the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympics and won two bronze medals: in the giant slalom in 1968 and in the downhill in 1972.
Biography
On 5 January 1967, Messner won the first race ever held in the World Cup - a slalom. He had 15 more World Cup podium finishes later in his career. In the 1970s, he pioneered the use of short skis in the technical races. Messner retired after the 1972 season and for two years trained the Austrian women’s team. He then moved to
Steinach am Brenner
Steinach am Brenner is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol located south of Innsbruck in the Wipptal at the Sill River.
Geography
Steinach am Brenner is located in Wipptal, along the Sill R ...
where he ran a ski school, a boarding house, and a ski rental service.
Messner died in October 2023, at the age of 84.
National titles
Messner won five national championships at individual
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
level.
*
Austria Alpine Ski Championships
**Downhill: 1961
**Giant slalom: 1967
**Slalom: 1964, 1965, 1967
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Messner, Heinrich
1939 births
2023 deaths
Olympic alpine skiers for Austria
Austrian male alpine skiers
Olympic bronze medalists for Austria
Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics
Alpine skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Alpine skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics
21st-century Austrian people
People from Innsbruck-Land District
20th-century Austrian sportsmen