Gertrud Gabl (26 August 1948 – 18 January 1976) was an alpine skier from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She competed in several events at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics with the best result of 9th place in the giant slalom in 1968.Gertrud Gabl
. sports-reference.com Her best season was 1968/69, when she won the Alpine skiing World Cup. Her uncle

Franz Gabl Franz Gabl (29 December 1921 – 23 January 2014) was an Austrian alpine skier and Olympic medalist. He received a silver medal in the downhill at the 1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Game ...

was also an Olympic alpine skier. In the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

she was 9th in the giant slalom and 12th in the downhill; she didn't finish the slalom. In the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1970 she was 4th in the slalom and 5th in the giant slalom. In the World Cup she scored her first world cup points on 19 January 1967, when she finished fifth in the slalom at Schruns. Later she went on to win five slaloms and two giant slaloms. Her father Josef was also an excellent ski racer. She won the Overall Alpine Skiing World Cup in 1969, the same year as

Karl Schranz Karl Schranz (born 18 November 1938) is a former champion Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer from Austria, one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s. Born and raised in Sankt Anton am Arlberg, St. Anton, Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Schranz had a leng ...

did it for the men. Both of them came from the same village, St. Anton am Arlberg, ant that is the only time that the women's and men's overall champions hailed from the same village.

Death

On 18 January 1976 Gabl was skiing with two friends on the northern slope of Mount Gamberg at the ski resort of St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria, when an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

buried the three, and she was killed. Her two companions were rescued alive. "Gertrud Gabl Succumbs After Avalanche Hits", ''Bridgeport (CT) Telegram'', January 19, 1976, p. 8

World Cup results

Season titles

*2 titles – (1 overall, 1

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

)

Season standings

Race victories

*7 wins – (5 SL, 2 GS) *17 podiums – (10 SL, 7 GS)

World Championship results

Olympic results

References

External links

* 1948 births 1976 deaths FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Alpine skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers of Austria Austrian female alpine skiers Deaths in avalanches Natural disaster deaths in Austria Sportspeople from Tyrol (state) 20th-century Austrian women {{Austria-alpine-skiing-bio-stub