Rudolph Matt

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Rudi Matt Alpine skiing
nation AustriaAustria Austria
birthday September 10, 1909
place of birth St. Anton
date of death November 18, 1993
Place of death innsbruck
Career
discipline Downhill, slalom, combination
society Ski Club Arlberg
End of career 1939
Medal table
World championships 1 × gold 0 × silver 0 × bronze
World championshipsTemplate: medals_winter sports / maintenance / unrecognized
gold Innsbruck 1936 slalom
 

Rudolph "Rudi" Matt (born September 10, 1909 in St. Anton am Arlberg , † November 18, 1993 in Innsbruck ) was an Austrian Nordic and Alpine skier. In 1936 he became world champion in slalom.

Life

Rudolph Matt started skiing at an early age. He took part in both Nordic competitions (jumping, cross-country skiing) and alpine competitions (downhill, slalom). In the course of his career he celebrated the greatest successes in alpine races. Matt achieved his first top results in the winter of 1930. He finished second in the downhill on the Feldberg and also finished second in the downhill of the prestigious Arlberg-Kandahar race in St. Anton. He took another second place in the Nordic Combined in Kitzbühel .

In 1931 he celebrated his first victories in his hometown. With a strong field of participants, he won the St. Anton slalom and also the jumping and the compound run. In the Arlberg-Kandahar race in Mürren he came second in the combination. In the following winter he won jumping in Innsbruck, in the three-man combination at the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel and in the Nordic combination in Schreiberhau as part of the German championships. At the Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1932 , he was eighth in the downhill, tenth in the combination and eleventh in the slalom. He had to pause the entire 1932/33 season because of a broken leg.

In the winter of 1934 he achieved second place at the well-known Parsenn Derby in Davos and he took part in the Nordic World Ski Championships in Sollefteå , Sweden , but only achieved placements there in midfield. At the Arlberg-Kandahar races in St. Anton, he came second in the slalom. In 1935 Matt started at the Nordic World Ski Championships in the High Tatras . With the relay he came in eighth place, in cross-country skiing over 18 km he was 15th. In the alpine area he got several second places, including in the downhill runs from St. Anton and the traditional Glockner race . In the following years he concentrated increasingly on the alpine competitions.

Alpine competitions were held for the first time at the Winter Olympics in 1936 . Like many of his colleagues, Matt was unable to take part because, as a state-certified ski instructor, he violated the amateur rules and was counted among the professionals. Matt celebrated his greatest success at the 1936 World Championships in Innsbruck . Half a second ahead of compatriot Eberhard Kneissl , he won the gold medal in the slalom. In the downhill he finished sixth and barely missed a combination medal. Matt achieved two more victories of the season in slalom and in combination at the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel.

In the winter of 1937, his best results were second place in the Parsenn derby and third place in the Glockner race . At the World Championships in 1937 he could not defend his title, was only seventh in slalom and in the combination and ninth in the downhill. In 1938 he celebrated a victory in the giant slalom in Davos and came second in the Feldberg downhill. At the 1938 World Championships in Engelberg , he came fourth in slalom, seventh in the combined and ninth in the downhill. Matt celebrated his last victory in 1939 when he won the combination of the Tschammer Cup in St. Anton and came second in the Parsenn Derby . After that, his career came to an end with the outbreak of World War II .

After the war, Matt remained closely connected to skiing. For a long time he was the director of the ski school in St. Anton and in 1948 looked after the Austrian Olympic team in St. Moritz. In the winter of 1950/51 he also directed the ski school in Sun Valley in the US state of Idaho . At the end of the 1950s he made several trips to Japan and demonstrated the Austrian teaching and driving style there. In 1968 he traveled to India , where he was involved in setting up a ski station in the Kashmir region .

Matt also took part in several films that had skiing as the main theme, for example in 1931 in The White Rush - New Wonders of the Snowshoe by Arnold Fanck , 1947 in Winter Melodie (orig. Les amours de Blanche Neige ) or 1958 in The Black Lightning .

Sporting successes

Alpine World Ski Championships

Nordic World Ski Championships

Awards (excerpt)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Matt, Rudolph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Matt, Rudi (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian Nordic and Alpine skier
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Anton am Arlberg
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 1993
Place of death innsbruck