Christl Haas

Christl Haas (19 September 1943 – 8 July 2001) was an Austrian Alpine skier. She competed at the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics and won a gold and a bronze medal, respectively.

Christl Haas
Christl Haas in 1962
Personal information
Born19 September 1943
Kitzbühel, Austria[1]
Died8 July 2001 (aged 57)
Manavgat, Turkey
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
SportAlpine skiing
ClubKitzbüheler Ski Club
Medal record
Representing  Austria
Olympic Games
1964 Innsbruck Downhill
1968 Grenoble Downhill
World Championships
1962 Chamonix Downhill
1964 Innsbruck Combined

Biography

Haas grew up in Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel, known for its alpine skiing courses. At the World Cup she won four downhill competitions in total.[2] At the Alpine skiing World Championship 1962 in Chamonix, France, she won gold in the downhill competition.

Haas became a national hero as a twenty-year-old Olympic champion in the downhill event at the first Innsbruck Winter Olympics. She became an instant superstar in her homeland as she won the gold medal in her home nation. Haas followed up her success at Innsbruck with a bronze medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.[1]

After retiring from competitions Haas became a ski instructor and opened a sporting goods store in Sankt Johann. As an Austrian gold medalist, Haas was selected with luger Josef Feistmantl to light the Olympic torch for the opening of the 1976 Winter Olympics on 4 February 1976.[1][3] In 2001, she had a heart attack while swimming in the Mediterranean Sea at Antalya, Turkey and died as a result.[4]

Notes and references
  1. Christl Haas. sports-reference.com
  2. "Christl Haas AUT". SKI-DB. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  3. "WHAT'S IN A FLAME?". The Washington Post. 8 February 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  4. "Christl Haas; Skier, 57". The New York Times. 10 July 2001. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Günther Zahn		 Final Olympic torchbearer
with Josef Feistmantl
1976 Innsbruck		 Succeeded by
Stéphane Préfontaine and Sandra Henderson
Preceded by
Hideo Takada		 Final Winter Olympic torchbearer
with Josef Feistmantl
1976 Innsbruck		 Succeeded by
Charles Morgan Kerr


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