Walter Habersatter learned the profession of confectioner after attending elementary and secondary school in Radstadt. On the side he went skiing, initially in the alpine area. In 1947 he was 2nd in the Austrian Youth Championship. Since there were no major successes, after the end of his apprenticeship he initially turned to work as a ski and mountain guide for American soldiers in the barracks in Saalfelden . He came into contact with jumping skis for the first time, which he tried out on the Radstadt Felserschanze, among other places. After some time, the national ski jumping trainer, old master Sepp Bradl , noticed him and appointed him to the ÖSV national team. In the 1954/55 season Habersatter was nominated for the first time for the Four Hills Tournament. His first major success was also this season. Starting for SK Radstadt, he was Austrian champion on the Lichtensteinschanze in Semmering in front of 50,000 spectators in the winter of 1955. He relegated his national coach Bradl to second place with a 2.3 point lead. This championship title was later followed by four runner-up titles. In 1956 Habersatter won the Kongsbergcup and was also nominated for the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo . He finished 15th in jumping on the normal hill. In ski flying at the flight week on the Kulm on March 9th, he finished fourth and fifth in the overall ranking. In 1957 Habersatter drew attention for the first time at the Four Hills Tournament with a 9th place in Bischofshofen . He then won the Swiss tour, in which he won three out of four competitions. In the following season 1957/58 he came in third place in Oberstdorf and Innsbruck . In the end, he finished 9th in the overall tour. Because of these achievements, Habersatter was then nominated for the Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti , where he only finished 31st, which was disappointing for him. It should be better in 1959. Walter Habersatter came in second place in the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament 1958/59 thanks to his victory of the day in Bischofshofen . This made him the second Austrian to achieve a podium place in the overall tour. A victory on the Sweden tour and third places each on the Russia and Norway tours rounded off this best season for him. In addition, Habersatter was voted "World's Best Jumper" of the year. The 1959/60 Olympic season, on the other hand, was completely opposite. In the Four Hills Tournament Habersatter only competed in Garmisch, where he also injured himself, and other Austrians jumped for medals in Squaw Valley . Habersatter was part of the Olympic squad and also went to the games, but he remained a substitute there. In the next few years he was only able to draw attention to himself sporadically. In the 61/62 season, Habersatter managed a third place in Innsbruck and a sixth place in the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament . This achievement was rewarded with the nomination of the 31-year-old for the Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane, Poland . However, there was disillusionment on site. For the jumping on the normal hill Habersatter was not considered at all, on the large hill he finished 44th. In the next 2 Four Hills Tournament he was only nominated for individual competitions. Nevertheless, Habersatter was nominated again for the 1964 Winter Olympics in his home country. In the end, however, it was only used as a forerunner. After 10 years of high-performance sport, the now 34-year-old resigned that same year. Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of January 1996, he took over as coach of the national team of the ÖSV ski jumpers, for which he was responsible until the Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo in 1966 . Walter Habersatter then returned to his hometown of Radstadt, where he remained connected to the sport in many ways. He made outstanding contributions to the development of ski tourism around Radstadt. Among other things, he was a co-founder of the Salzburger Sportwelt amadé , an association of cable car companies, and its president for 15 years.
Walter Habersatter is the father of five children, including Walter Habersatter junior. He was married to Brigitte Totschnig , silver medalist in downhill skiing in Innsbruck 1976 . Habersatter's former home is now known as the Habersatter inn. Walter Habersatter died on May 30, 2018 and was buried on June 5 in the cemetery in Radstadt.
Austrian Ski Association (Ed.): "Austrian Ski Stars from A – Z. " Ablinger & Garber, Hall in Tirol 2008, ISBN 978-3-9502285-7-1 , pp. 131-132
Joachim Glaser: " Goldsmiths in the snow. 100 years of the Salzburg State Ski Association ." Böhlau, Vienna-Cologne-Weimar 2011, ISBN 978-3-205-78560-6 , pp. 138-140
Austria
