Josef "Sepp" Walcher (December 8, 1954 – January 22, 1984) was an
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 ...
n
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
alpine ski racer. He specialized in the
downhill
Downhill may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock
* ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse
* ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
event and won the gold medal at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in
1978 at
Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the Ob ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
Biography
Born in
Schladming
Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the F ...
,
Styria, Walcher made his World Cup debut in December
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
, 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
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
at
Morzine
Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France.
A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a riv ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, his seventh podium.
His best two seasons were 1977 and
1978, finishing runner-up to compatriot
Franz Klammer
Franz Klammer (born 3 December 1953) is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria. Klammer dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons (1975– 78). He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsb ...
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.
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, the race was a 8 km
downhill
Downhill may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock
* ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse
* ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
where the skiers started only 30 second one from the each other.
World Cup results
Season standings
Race podiums
* 5 wins – (5 DH)
* 13 podiums – (13 DH)
World championship results
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
were also the World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
for alpine skiing.
Olympic results
^
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.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcher, Josef
1954 births
1984 deaths
Austrian male alpine skiers
Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics
Olympic alpine skiers for Austria
Skiing deaths
Sport deaths in Austria
People from Liezen District
Sportspeople from Styria