Felix Gottwald (born 13 January 1976 in

Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...

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 ...

, now resides in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, Austria) is an

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic ...

athlete who competed from 1994 to 2007 and then returned to compete in 2009. He is , weighing . Gottwald made his Olympic debut as an 18-year-old in the 15 km individual event at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

, then competed in the 4 x 5 km team and 15 km individual events at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

. Gottwald won bronze medals in the 7.5 km sprint, 15 km individual and 4 x 5 km team Nordic combined events at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

. Coming into the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, he had regularly ranked among the top three in the world. He won golds in the 7.5 km sprint and 4 x 5 km team competitions, and took silver in the 15 km individual. At the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

, Gottwald won gold in the 4 x 5 km team event. He is the most decorated Nordic combined skier at the Winter Olympics with seven medals. Gottwald topped the World Cup standings in 2001, and was a member of the Austrian team that won gold at the 2003

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...

. Eight years later, at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, he was again part of the Austrian team that became team world champion both in the normal hill and in the large hill competition. He also has two silvers (4 x 5 km team: 2001, 15 km individual: 2003) and six bronzes (15 km individual: 2001, 2005, 7.5 km sprint: 2003, normal hill: 2011, 4 x 5 km team: 1997, 2005) from the World Championships. So he is also the most decorated Nordic combined skier at World Championships with eleven medals. Gottwald also has won twice 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 the Nordic combined (2001, 2003 individual). He also won the Holmenkollen medal in 2003 (shared with

Ronny Ackermann Ronny Ackermann (; born 16 May 1977 in Bad Salzungen, Bezirk Suhl) is a German former Nordic combined skier. Ackermann started to learn to ski when he was five years old and took up ski-jumping two years later. As of 2004, he belongs to the tea ...

). Gottwald retired at the end of the 2006-07 World Cup. He chose to return from retirement in May 2009, in order to compete in another season, including the Olympics. Prior to that he was working for an Austrian television network as a color commentator. After the Olympic season he added another one, and with his victories in Kuusamo (27 November 2010) and Schonach (8 January 2011) he became the oldest winner of a nordic combined competition.

Notes and references

Fanlisting
* * - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file * - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottwald, Felix 1976 births Austrian male Nordic combined skiers Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Living people Nordic combined Grand Prix winners Nordic combined skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics FIS Nordic Combined World Cup winners Olympic Nordic combined skiers of Austria Olympic gold medalists for Austria Olympic silver medalists for Austria Olympic bronze medalists for Austria People from Zell am See Olympic medalists in Nordic combined FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in Nordic combined Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Salzburg (state)

See also

Notes and references