Josef Feistmantl (23 February 1939 – 10 March 2019) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the Calf (leg), calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the se ...

r who competed from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. He competed at three Olympic Games.

Biography

Feistmantl was born in Absam. Competing in two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) 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 h ...

, he won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at the 1964 Winter Olympics in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a pop ...

along with Manfred Stengl. Feistmantl also won five medals in the men's singles event at the

FIL World Luge Championships The FIL World Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place on an almost annual basis in non- Winter Olympics years since 1955. These championships are shown for artificial tracks. See FIL World Luge Natura ...

with one gold ( 1969 - the first Worlds to be held on an artificial track, at Königssee), two silvers ( 1959, 1970), and two bronzes ( 1967, 1971). He also won two medals in the men's doubles event at the

FIL European Luge Championships The FIL European Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place since 1914. From 1914 to 1934, these championships were part of the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV - International Sled Sport Federat ...

with one gold ( 1967) and one silver ( 1962). After his 1969 World Championship win, he donated the medal to the Polish team after their luger

Stanisław Paczka Stanisław Paczka (16 September 1945 – 1 February 1969) was a Polish luger. He competed in the men's doubles event at the 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes J ...

had been killed whilst in competition at the Championships: Feistmantl stated that he "wanted to set a positive example". That year the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

awarded him a Fair Play Prize for his gesture. At the opening ceremonies of 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 ...

, Feistmantl and fellow Austrian alpine skier Christl Haas were lighters of separate Olympic Flames as defined by

's hosting of their second

. He subsequently cited this as his fondest memory. Feistmantl was inducted into the

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL); German: Internationaler Rennrodelverband) is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in ...

Hall of Fame in 2005 along with Hans Rinn.

References

External links

FIL-Luge.org March 14, 2005 article on the new FIL Hall of Fame, including Feistmantl's induction.
- accessed March 8, 2008. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Feistmantl, Josef 1939 births 2019 deaths Austrian male lugers Olympic lugers of Austria Olympic gold medalists for Austria Lugers at the 1964 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in luge Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics Olympic cauldron lighters