Franz Harrer

Franz Harrer
nation	Austria
birthday	October 21, 1907
place of birth	Langen am Arlberg
date of death	August 4, 2001
Place of death	Bludenz
Career
discipline	Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping
society	Arlberg Ski Club

Franz Harrer (born October 21, 1907 in Langen am Arlberg , † August 4, 2001 in Bludenz ) was an Austrian alpine and Nordic skier and trainer. In the 1930s, he achieved numerous victories and podium places in international races - mainly in alpine skiing - and as a trainer at the Arlberg Ski Club he introduced some young talents to the top of the world.

biography

After success in the junior area - in 1922 he won the youth ski day in St. Anton - Harrer achieved the first major victory in the downhill race on Golm in 1929 , which he repeated in 1931 and 1932. In 1930 and 1932 he won the downhill on the Silvretta , also in 1932 a downhill on the Schesaplana and the Alpine Combination in Warth , where he won the slalom in 1933. Harrer also achieved some successes in Nordic skiing, including winning the inaugural competition on the Lech ski jump in 1931 and winning the 18 km run at the Austrian championships in 1932. However, he increasingly concentrated on the alpine disciplines.

In the winter of 1934, Harrer celebrated victories in downhill, slalom and combination in Warth as well as in the Madloch races in Lech. He attracted international attention primarily with his three third places in the Arlberg-Kandahar races in St. Anton. In the 1934/1935 season Harrer won the Yugoslav championships, he also won a combination in Schruns, a descent in Warth and for the second time the Madloch descent in Lech. At the Austrian Championships in Zell am See in 1935 , he reached third place in downhill and combined, with only the combination being counted as a championship.

From the winter of 1935/1936, Harrer also worked as a trainer. First, he looked after the Yugoslav team in preparation for the 1936 Winter Olympics . He himself now took part in competitions less and less, but in 1936 he still achieved second place in the Madloch downhill run in Lech and sixth place in the Arlberg-Kandahar downhill run in St. Anton, before he won another downhill run in 1937 Zell am See succeeded. After a serious injury at the Madloch race in 1938, he continued to take part in competitions, even after the Second World War he contested a few races.

As a trainer at the Arlberg Ski Club , Harrer introduced a number of young talents to the top of the world from the 1940s onwards. One of his first students was Trude Jochum-Beiser , whose personal advisor he remained for a long time. Other successful racers such as Othmar Schneider and Gerhard Nenning were also trained by him. Harrer was also often the route manager at the Westenpokal in Lech.

Victories in FIS competitions

• Descent on Golm in 1929, 1931 and 1932
• Descent on the Silvretta in 1930 and 1932
• Ski jumping in Lech 1931
• Descent on the Schesaplana in 1932
• Alpine Combination in Warth 1932
• Slalom in Warth 1933
• Downhill, slalom and combination of the Madloch races in Lech 1934
• Downhill, slalom and combination in Warth 1934
• Alpine combination in Schruns in 1935
• Madloch descent in Lech in 1935
• Departure from Warth in 1935
• Departure from Zell am See in 1937

literature

• Austrian Ski Association (Ed.): Austrian Ski Stars from A – Z. Ablinger & Garber, Hall in Tirol 2008, ISBN 978-3-9502285-7-1 , p. 138.