Franz Krienbühl

Franz Krienbühl (born March 24, 1929 in Baar ; † April 13, 2002 , lived in Unterägeri ) was a Swiss architect and was best known as a speed skater . In addition to his achievements as one of the best Swiss athletes, Krienbühl became well-known for the invention of the aerodynamically skin-tight suit for speed skating.

He became Swiss champion in 1968 when he was almost 40 years old and first took part in the Olympic Games . He always ended up in the lower ranks before he and his helpers invented a one-piece, skin-tight suit in 1974 out of aerodynamic considerations and thus improved his personal best.

His new, tight suit was initially mocked, but his running times made people sit up and take notice. He reached eighth place at the 1976 Olympic Games at the age of 47. This led to a revolution in speed skating, because since then all runners have been wearing this one-piece.

In 1984, at the age of 55, he became Switzerland's speed skating champion for the 14th time. He ended his career in 1986. Krienbühl was also known as the “speed skating grandpa” in the skating enthusiasts of the Netherlands .

In memory of him, the "International Franz Krienbühl Memorial" was held on January 2, 2005 on the Davos natural ice rink . The dedication of the event reads: "Franz Krienbühl is a legendary speed skater who has shaped Swiss and European speed skating for years with his great successes and his work" .

Web links

• Franz Krienbühl in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Statistics at speed skating news