Otto Furrer
Otto Furrer (born October 19, 1903 in Zermatt ; † July 26, 1951 on the Matterhorn ) was a successful Swiss ski racer , cross-country skier , military patrol runner and mountaineer in the 1920s and 1930s and is considered a co-founder of the Swiss winter sports resort of Zermatt.
Life and sport
Otto Furrer received his mountain guide license in 1925 and became a pioneer of ski tours in high alpine mountains . He founded the Zermatt Ski School as early as 1935 and headed it until 1951. He was also a member of the technical commission of the Swiss Ski School Association.
Otto Furrer became known primarily because of his sporting successes. In 1932, for example, he won the world championship title in alpine combined and four other medals at alpine skiing world championships . Furrer was, as it was at the time, an all-round athlete and, in addition to alpine skiing, also ran cross-country skiing and military patrols. Otto Furrer proved that he was also successful in these sports by winning the bronze medal in the Swiss team with Fritz Kuhn, Hugo Lehner and Anton Julen in the military patrol race and by taking 21st place in the cross-country skiing competition over 18 km at the Olympic Games in St. Moritz 1928.
In 1951 he had an accident on the south ridge of the Matterhorn, triggered by a tear in the rope on Tyndall Pic.
Greatest successes
winter Olympics
- Bronze medal in the military patrol race (demonstration competition) in St. Moritz 1928
Alpine World Ski Championships
- Gold medal and world champion in the alpine combination in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1932
- Silver medal in the downhill in Mürren in 1931
- Silver medal in Salom in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1932
- Bronze medal in the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1932
- Bronze medal in the alpine combination in Innsbruck 1933
Other competitions
- Multiple winner of the Arlberg-Kandahar races
- Slalom : 1932, 1934
- Departure : 1931, 1932, 1934
- Combination : 1931, 1932, 1934
Web links
- Otto Furrer in the database of Ski-DB (English)
- Bernard Truffer: Furrer, Otto. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Otto Furrer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Otto Furrer in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Furrer, Otto |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss winter sports enthusiast, co-founder of the Swiss winter sports resort Zermatt |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 19, 1903 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Zermatt |
DATE OF DEATH | July 26, 1951 |
Place of death | Matterhorn |