Josef Walcher

Josef "Sepp" Walcher (December 8, 1954 – January 22, 1984) was an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. He specialized in the downhill event and won the gold medal at the World Championships in 1978 at Garmisch, West Germany.[1][2]

Josef "Sepp" Walcher
Alpine skier
Walcher in December 1977
DisciplinesDownhill
Born(1954-12-08)8 December 1954
Schladming, Styria, Austria
Died22 January 1984(1984-01-22) (aged 29)
Schladming, Styria, Austria
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
World Cup debutDecember 1972 (age 18)
RetiredMarch 1982 (age 27)
Olympics
Teams2 – (1976, 1980)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams3 – (1976, 1978, 1980)
Medals1 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons10 – (1973–1982)
Wins5 – (5 DH)
Podiums13 – (13 DH)
Overall titles0 – (7th in 1978)
Discipline titles0 – (2nd DH: 1977, 1978)
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing  Austria
World Championships
1978 GarmischDownhill

Born in Schladming, Styria, Walcher made his World Cup debut in December 1972, two days after his 18th birthday. Two months later, he scored his first World Cup points (and podium) with a runner-up finish at St. Moritz, Switzerland. Walcher's first World Cup victory came in January 1977 at Morzine, France, his seventh podium.[3][4] His best two seasons were 1977 and 1978, finishing runner-up to compatriot Franz Klammer in the downhill standings both years. A week prior to his win at the world championships in 1978, Walcher won consecutive downhills at Kitzbühel, Austria.[5][6]

Walcher retired after the 1982 season with five World Cup victories and thirteen podium finishes. Two years later, he was killed at age 29 in a skiing accident in a benefit race in 1984 at his hometown of Schladming.[7]

Walcher memorial
in Schladming

World Cup results

Season standings
SeasonAgeOverall Slalom Giant
 Slalom 		Super GDownhillCombined
19731828——not
run 		11not
awarded
19741929——11
19752023——12
19762130——13—
1977228——2not
awarded
1978237——2
19792439——13
19802522——7—
19812641——14—
19822750——18—

Race podiums
  • 5 wins – (5 DH)
  • 13 podiums – (13 DH)
Season Date Location Discipline Place
197311 Feb 1973   St. Moritz, SwitzerlandDownhill2nd
197418 Dec 1973 Zell am See, AustriaDownhill3rd
19755 Jan 1975 Garmisch, West GermanyDownhill3rd
197625 Jan 1976 Kitzbühel, AustriaDownhill3rd
197718 Dec 1976 Val Gardena, ItalyDownhill2nd
30 Jan 1977 Morzine, FranceDownhill2nd
31 Jan 1977Downhill1st
12 Mar 1977 Heavenly Valley, USADownhill1st
197811 Dec 1977 Val d'Isère, FranceDownhill3rd
20 Jan 1978 Kitzbühel, AustriaDownhill1st
21 Jan 1978  Downhill[8]1st
197916 Dec 1978 Val Gardena, ItalyDownhill1st
198018 Jan 1980   Wengen, SwitzerlandDownhill2nd

World championship results
  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
197621——not
run		9—
197823—271—
198025——  — ^—

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
197621——not run9not run
198025——  — ^

^ Walcher made the downhill team in 1980 but was dropped the day before the race, replaced by alternate Leonhard Stock, who won the gold medal.[9][10][11]

References
  1. "Downhill gold for Walcher". Reading Eagle. Associated Press. January 30, 1978. p. 21.
  2. "Walcher winner". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 30, 1978. p. 15.
  3. "Josef Walcher surprise winner". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. February 1, 1977. p. 17.
  4. "Downhill star Klammer loses second race in row". Montreal Gazette. Canadian Press. February 1, 1978. p. 15.
  5. "Walcher triumphs". The Hour. Norwalk, CT. UPI. January 20, 1978. p. 21.
  6. "Klammer upset in downhill". Montreal Gazette. Reuters. January 21, 1978. p. 13.
  7. "Austrian ski star killed in accident". New York Times. UPI. January 23, 1984. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  8. Shared win with Josef Ferstl
  9. "For Stock, it was an uphill battle". St. Petersburg Independent. Associated Press. February 15, 1980. p. 5C.
  10. Mizell, Hubert (February 15, 1980). "Unknown Austrian skier Stock suddenly is hero". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C.
  11. Johnson, William Oscar (February 25, 1980). "Austria storms the hill". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.