Squidward Schwabl

Squidward Schwabl
nation	Austria German Empire
birthday	March 30, 1917
place of birth	Kitzbuhel ,  Austria-Hungary
job	Ski instructors, trainers, lifeguards
date of death	August 26, 1993
Place of death	Kitzbuhel, Austria
Career
discipline	Downhill , slalom , combination
society	Kitzbühel Ski Club
End of career	1948

Thaddäus "Thäus" Schwabl (born March 30, 1917 in Kitzbühel , Austria-Hungary ; † August 26, 1993 ibid, Austria ) was an Austrian ski racer . He took part in the World Championships in Engelberg in 1938 and entered the list of winners in the Hahnenkamm race three times . Schwabl won both the last Hahnenkamm descent before and the first after the Second World War .

biography

Athletic career

Thaddäus Schwabl achieved his sporting breakthrough in the winter of 1937. During the fifth Hahnenkamm race in his hometown of Kitzbühel, he won the downhill and finished second in the combination behind his compatriot Wilhelm Walch . He also won the Austrian youth championship title both in the downhill and in the combination. A year later, he took part in the World Championships in Engelberg and, after finishing fifth in downhill and slalom, he just missed a medal as a combined fourth . During the National Socialist era , Schwabl was a member of the Wehrmacht's 136th Mountain Infantry Regiment and won the Wehrmacht ski master title for the Kitzbühel Ski Club in 1939. According to reports by the Tyrolean border messenger , he lost a stick in the downhill run and "hit" badly.

After the Hahnenkamm races were canceled in 1938 and 1939 due to lack of snow and fell victim to the Second World War in the years that followed, they could not be held again until 1946. Thaddäus Schwabl was defending champion after an eight-year break and was able to win the descent again in the then record time of 3: 01.02 minutes. In his first victory in 1937, he still needed 3: 53.10 minutes to cover the distance. In 1948 he also won a slalom on the Ganslernhang , after which he ended his active career. He was not allowed to take part in the Olympic Games in St. Moritz due to his work as a coach.

Further career

Thaddäus Schwabl was already working as a ski instructor in his hometown at the age of 15. At the age of 20 he started to work as a trainer in the Austrian racing school in Zell am See . After he had looked after ski racers during the war, around 1943 those of the Spanish national team, he switched to the Tschagguns racing school in 1947 as a teacher . Eventually he became the Austrian national trainer and accompanied Trude Beiser to her Olympic victory in 1948 , among others. In the summer months, Schwabl worked as a lifeguard in the municipal outdoor pool at Schwarzsee .

Schwabl was married to Anna Pfister, with whom he had a son (* 1946). He died in 1993 after a long and serious illness.

successes

World championships

• Engelberg 1938 : 4th combination, 5th descent, 5th slalom

Further successes (selection)

• 2 Austrian youth championship titles (downhill and combined 1937)
• Wehrmacht championship title 1939
• 3 wins and 4 more podium places at the Hahnenkamm races
  • 1st place downhill 1937
  • 1st place downhill 1946
  • 1st place slalom 1948
  • 2nd place combination 1937
  • 2nd place special descent 1948
  • 3rd place downhill 1948
  • 3rd place combination 1948
  • 5th place slalom 1947
  • 5th place combination 1947

Web links

• Thaddäus Schwabl in the database of the International Ski Association (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Thaddäus Schwabl. Kitzbühel Ski Club, accessed on February 23, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Uniforms shaped the German and Wehrmacht Ski Championships in 1939. In: Kitzbüheler Anzeiger , April 2019, p. 11. Online , accessed on February 23, 2020.