Johann "Hans" Spitzauer (, born 1 March 1965) is an Austrian former sailor, who specialized in both Finn and

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

classes. He was named the country's top Finn sailor in the first three editions of his Olympic career (1988, 1992, and 1996) and came closest to the medal haul in

Atlanta 1996 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, finishing in fourth place. After missing out his

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

bid, he moved into the Star class and eventually partnered with Andreas Hanakamp to compete at his fourth Olympics in

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and with Christian Nehammer at his fifth in

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. Outside the Games, Spitzauer was deemed one of the world's most successful Finn sailors in the early to mid-1990s, receiving a complete set of medals with one in each color (gold, silver, and bronze) at the

Finn Gold Cup The Finn Gold Cup is the premier competition in Finn Class sailboat racing. Organized by the International Sailing Federation, it decides the Finn World Championships and has been held every year since 1956. Finn is an Olympic class. Edition ...

and the Finn European Championships, respectively.

Career

Early years

Spitzauer made his first Austrian team in

Seoul 1988 The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, finishing fifteenth in the open Finn class with a net grade of 119.70. After his maiden Olympics, Spitzauer rose to prominence with his first-ever triumph at the 1989 Finn Europeans in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, eventually followed by his elated podium feat in the prestigious

three years later. At his succeeding Games in

Barcelona 1992 The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, Spitzauer improved upon his feat from Seoul to score a sensational top-eight mark in his

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

class with 79.4 net points. Spitzauer reached the peak of his sailing career in the 1995 season by narrowly overhauling Sweden's

Fredrik Lööf Max Emil Fredrik Lööf (born 13 December 1969 in Kristinehamn, Sweden) is a Swedish professional sailor who has participated in six Summer Olympics, winning one gold and two bronze medals. He won the gold medal in Star with Max Salminen at the ...

for the Finn Gold Cup title in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. A potential gold medal favorite in

, however, he slipped out of the podium by the smallest margin behind the Netherlands'

Roy Heiner Roy Heiner (born 22 November 1960, in Virginia, Free State, South Africa) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Pusan. Heiner took 7th place in the Finn. In 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona H ...

Transition

Spitzauer continued to sail the Finn in the late 1990s, but he took the helm of a threesome Soling boat for the remaining portion of the quadrennial cycle. His bid for

was cut short, when he lost the selection trials. Taking a year off to reassess other sailing options, Spitzauer decided to move into the

class and eventually partnered with Andreas Hanakamp in the lead-up to his fourth Olympic trip. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Spitzauer and crew member Hanakamp struggled to chase the world's top sailing crews in the

class under breezy conditions, before bouncing back to score a couple of top-five marks towards the final stretch. Unable to sail towards the front after eleven races, the Austrian pair accumulated a net grade of 97 for a lowly thirteenth overall out of seventeen registered crews. Dissatisfied with the

outcome, Spitzauer shelved his retirement plans to pair up with the nine-time legend

Hubert Raudaschl Hubert Raudaschl (; born 26 August 1942 in Sankt Gilgen am Wolfgangsee) is an Austrian sailboat manufacturer and former Olympic athlete. He has participated in nine Olympic games between 1964 and 1996. Raudaschl has competed in the s ...

for his next Olympiad, but perpetual training and campaigning lost some sailing allure for the latter. He requested the 32-year-old Christian Nehammer to join him in a Star campaign, beginning with the 2006 ISAF World Cup series in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Soon, the new Austrian duo recorded a string of top-ten marks at various international regattas within the quadrennial cycle, including the

Kiel Week The Kiel Week (german: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in Europe, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting ...

and the Bacardi Cup. After missing the Olympic cut at the Worlds in 2007, Spitzauer and crewman Nehammer rebounded from their flimsy outcome in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

to punch the last of the four remaining tickets vying for qualification with a successful top 16 finish at the class-associated Worlds in

. Spitzauer served as the country's sailing team captain at his fifth and final Games in

, teaming with the rookie Nehammer in the

class. There, the Austrian duo posted a triad of top-six marks throughout the ten-race course, but a disastrous feat on the last leg slipped their chances away from the medal round to the twelfth overall spot with 87 net points.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitzauer, Hans 1965 births Living people Austrian male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors of Austria Sailors at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Star Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Star Sportspeople from Vienna