Waltraud J. "Traudl" Hecher-Görgl (28 September 1943 – 10 January 2023) was an Austrian

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 ...

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 ...

and Olympic medalist. Hecher won

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medals in the

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 ...

1960 It is also known as the " Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * J ...

at Squaw Valley"1960 Winter Olympics – Squaw Valley, United States – Alpine Skiing"
(retrieved on 29 February 2008). and in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

at Innsbruck."1964 Winter Olympics – Innsbruck, Austria – Alpine Skiing"
(retrieved on 29 February 2008). Her medal in 1960 at age 16 made her the youngest alpine skiing medalist ever, an honor she retains over fifty years later. She raced through the 1967 season, the first year of World Cup competition.

Personal life

Hecher was born in

Schwaz Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley. Location Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. She retired in the summer of 1967. She later married Anton Görgl and settled in

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

. Her son Stephan Görgl (b. 1978) and daughter

Elisabeth Görgl Elisabeth Görgl (born 20 February 1981) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Born in Bruck an der Mur, Styria, Görgl made her World Cup debut in March 2000 and has reached World Cup podiums in all five alpine disciplines, wit ...

(b. 1981) are both alpine racers who have represented Austria at the Winter Olympics. Stephan competed in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

in 2006 and Elisabeth competed in the downhill in 2006 and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. She won bronze in the latter, a half-century after her mother won bronze in the same event. One year later, Elisabeth became double

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 2011, with victories in both speed events (

and

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 ...

) at

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 ...

. In February 2014, Elisabeth also participated in four disciplines in the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...

(

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 ...

and

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 ...

). Hecher died on 10 January 2023, at the age of 79.

World Cup results

Season standings

Race podiums

* 2 podiums – (1 GS, 1 SL)

World championship results

From

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

through

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

, the

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 ...

were also the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Normally held in February, the championships were in August in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

Olympic results

References

External links

*
Traudl Hecher
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hecher, Traudl 1943 births 2023 deaths Austrian female alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers of Austria Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Olympic bronze medalists for Austria Sportspeople from Tyrol (state) People from Schwaz 20th-century Austrian women 21st-century Austrian women