Walter Steiner (born 15 February 1951) is a Swiss former

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

who competed in the 1970s.

Career

Steiner earned a ski jumping silver medal in the Individual large hill at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

. He also won the ski jumping competition at the

Holmenkollen ski festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( no, Holmenkollen skifestival or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March ...

in 1974 and won the Ski Flying World Championships in 1972 and 1977. Steiner was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1977 (shared with

Helena Takalo Anni Helena Takalo (née Kivioja, born 28 October 1947) is a Finnish former cross-country skier. She was born in Nivala, and was dominant women's cross-country skiing in the 1970s, earning five Winter Olympic medals and four FIS Nordic World Ski ...

and Hilkka Kuntola). As of 2012 he resides in the Swedish rural town of

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...

, working as a

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

. On 9 March 1973, he crashed at world record distance at 175 metres (574 ft). And again two days later he crashed at record 179 metres (587 ft), both of them achieved in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

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 ...

. On 15 March 1974 he set and tied ski jumping world record distance at 169 metres (554 ft) with

Heinz Wossipiwo Heinz Wossipiwo (born 25 January 1951) is a German former ski jumper who competed from 1971 to 1975, representing East Germany. Career He won a silver medal in the individual large hill at the 1974 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun. W ...

. Later that day he crashed at 177 metres (581 ft) world record distance, both distances were set on Velikanka bratov Gorišek K165 in

Planica Planica () is an Alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking d ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Ski jumping world records

Not recognized! Crash at world record distance.

Documentary

Steiner is the subject of the 1974

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

German-language documentary film '' The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner'', a.k.a. The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner (German: ''Die große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner''). Much of the footage shows Steiner and his psychological struggle at a competition at

where Herzog also appears as commentator.

References

External links

*
Holmenkollen medalists
- click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
Holmenkollen winners since 1892
- click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file {{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Walter 1951 births Living people Ski jumpers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1976 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Olympic ski jumpers of Switzerland Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland Swiss male ski jumpers Olympic medalists in ski jumping Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics