Hans Hauser (ski racer)

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Hans Hauser Alpine skiing Ski jumpingCross-country skiing
Full name Hermann Johann Hauser
nation AustriaAustria Austria
birthday October 3, 1911
place of birth Aigen near Salzburg
date of death July 27, 1974
Place of death Salzburg
Career
discipline Alpine skiing,
ski jumping,
cross-country skiing
society SC Salzburg
Medal table
World championships 0 × gold 1 × silver 2 × bronze
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
silver Cortina d'Ampezzo 1932 combination
bronze Cortina d'Ampezzo 1932 slalom
bronze Innsbruck 1933 Departure
 

Hermann Johann "Hans" Hauser (born October 3, 1911 in Aigen near Salzburg , † July 27, 1974 in Salzburg ) was an Austrian Alpine and Nordic skier and the first medalist at Alpine World Ski Championships from the state of Salzburg .

Youth and origin

Hans Hauser grew up on the Zistelalm on Gaisberg together with his brother Max (born December 5, 1912), who was one year younger than him . His parents, who originally came from the Zillertal , ran an inn next to the farm at 1000 m above sea level and were among the first pioneers of ski tourism, which was not yet developed at the time. Due to the seclusion, the two brothers managed to go to the community school in the district of Vorderfager on skis in winter . These were self-made, narrow boards made of ash or beech , bent in the fire , on which the backs of old shoes were nailed and two straps that were used for fastening. As adolescents, Hans and his brother soon established themselves in the ambitious Salzburg Ski Club, founded in 1910, alongside pioneers such as Markus Maier and Edi Galeitner .

Active career as a skier

At the age of 18, Hans Hauser first competed the Kandahar descent in St. Anton am Arlberg and finished 25th, which was a disappointing for him. Just two years later he celebrated his first major successes at the FIS races in Cortina d'Ampezzo , which the FIS subsequently declared to be world championships . While in the downhill had to be satisfied even with the fourth place he occupied in the slalom the third and in the Alpine combined , at that time still represented the most important discipline in alpine ski circuit, behind the Swiss Otto Furrer and before Austria's flagship Guzzi Lantschner second place . In the same year he won slalom and combination of the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel .

The Salzburg native experienced his greatest disappointment in 1933 at the home world championships in Innsbruck . Even before the combined downhill run, Hauser contested the 10 km long special downhill run on the Glungezer . However, the emerging foehn affected the route so much that the 94 athletes who had started had to drive over several clods of earth during their runs. With 18: 05.6, Hans Hauser with the number 77 set the fastest time and one and a half minutes ahead of Guzzi Lantschner. Following the intervention of the favorites from Switzerland who had landed in the defeated field, the FIS decided not to recognize the special downhill race as a World Championship race due to the adverse conditions. In the combined run, which was also classified as a special run, he finished third behind the Swiss Prager and Zogg and thus won his third medal at major international events.

As was quite common in the early years in skiing, the Salzburg native also started in the Nordic competitions and showed talent there too. He took part in the Nordic World Ski Championships from 1933 and started alongside Markus Maier and Edi Galeitner in 1934 as the first Salzburg citizen on Holmenkollen in Oslo . In 1935 he achieved his best result at the Nordic World Ski Championships with seventh place in the combination. His three Austrian championship titles in the supreme discipline of the time, the three-way combination of downhill skiing, jumping and cross-country skiing, remained unmatched .

At the time of the 1936 Winter Olympics, Hauser was in top form, but counted as a professional due to his ski instructor activities and was therefore excluded from the seemingly safe participation in Berchtesgaden . After the Salzburg resident had already helped to set up W. Averell Harriman's ski center "Ketchum" in Sun Valley , he went to the United States with his brother Max, who was also active in the ski circuit .

Working in the US, family tragedies and suicide

While Max Hauser returned home after the outbreak of World War II , Hans stayed in America despite the threat of internment and worked as a ski school director in Sun Valley. Among his prominent customers, whom the Austrian taught their first turns in the snow, were Henry Ford and the Hemingway couple .

After his marriage to Virginia Hill, who had previously been a liaison to Bugsy Siegel and who was said to have links to the American mafia by the American tabloid press , their son Peter was born in 1950. Hans Hauser returned to Europe with his family and in the following years led a carefree life in Switzerland . The family happiness lasted only a short time. Virginia Hauser committed 1966 suicide , the son died in a car accident. Hans Hauser, previously known as a bon vivant, withdrew more and more from the public and committed suicide on July 27, 1974 in his native Salzburg. Max Hauser, who was always preceded by the reputation of the "more level-headed" of the two brothers, survived Hans by nine years and died on November 27, 1983.

The Zistelalm am Gaisberg is now run by the fourth generation of the Hauser family. A few yellowed photos and newspaper clippings on the walls still remind us of the two lads “von der Zistel” who set out to conquer the world of skiing.

In September 2019, ServusTV shot a documentary about Virginia Hill and Hans Hauser, directed by Sascha Köllnreiter, played by Verena Altenberger and Michael Dangl and produced by Adrian Goiginger and Peter Wildling.

Greatest successes

World championships

  • Vice world champion in combination in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1932
  • 3rd place in the slalom in Cortina d'Ampezzo 1932
  • 3rd place in the downhill run in Innsbruck 1933
  • 4th place in the slalom in Innsbruck 1933

Austrian championships

Salzburg state championships

  • 3 × Salzburg national champions in a combination of three

More Achievements

  • Hahnenkamm winner in the combination of four in 1936
  • Winner in slalom and two-man combination at the Hahnenkamm in 1932, 2nd place in the three-man combination
  • 3rd place in the Arlberg-Kandahar race in 1932

literature

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ^ Parish office Salzburg-Aigen, baptismal register X, page 60, digitized 03-Taufe_0060, current entry 42 Birth and baptism entry: Hermann Johann Hauser ; accessed via matricula.online on November 17, 2017;
  2. ↑ Cold Case: How a Babe May Have Helped the Mob Rub Out Bugsy | NBC Southern California. In: nbclosangeles.com. Retrieved August 29, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Mobster Bugsy Siegel murder finally revealed to be a love triangle execution | Daily Mail Online. In: dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved August 29, 2015 .
  4. ^ TV documentary "Virginia": Verena Altenberger is shooting in the Salzburger Land. In: Kurier.at . September 11, 2019, accessed September 14, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Hauser, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hauser, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Aigen near Salzburg , Province of Salzburg, Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1974
Place of death Salzburg , State of Salzburg, Austria