Erwin Resch
Erwin Resch ( born March 4, 1961 in Maria parish ) is a former Austrian alpine skier. The downhill specialist won three World Cup races and the bronze medal at the World Championships in 1982.
Career
After some successes at youth level to the national level Resch came in 1978 in the European Cup for use and soon scored the first top-10 results. In 1979 he won the downhill at the Junior European Championships in Achenkirch. On 1 February of the same year he made his debut in the World Cup and won 15th place in the downhill of Villars -sur -Ollon immediately awarded the first World Cup points. But the next winter he started still mainly in the European Cup, where he scored fourth overall in the downhill standings with a win and a third place in the two slopes of Méribel.
From the season 1980/81 Resch was a regular on the World Cup at the start and had already reached the second season in Val Gardena downhill on the Saslong fourth place. After three more top-10 results, he celebrated on 13 December 1981 in Val Gardena, in turn, his first World Cup victory. Six weeks later, he finished second on the Lauberhorn in Wengen, which he scored in Schladming at the World Cup 1982 to the circle of the medal contenders. At the World Cup downhill on the Planai Resch won behind the winner Harti Weirather and the second placed Conradin Cathomen the bronze medal, although he lost a ski pole shortly after the second interim. This misfortune happened to him in the World Cup twice, so he was temporarily dubbed " The one-armed bandit ".
Also a victory, this time in Val d'Isere, and a second place went to Resch in the World Cup 1982/83 season, and like last year, he was also this winter fourth in the downhill World Cup. Even more successful was the season 1983/1984, which began Resch in Schladming with his third World Cup victory. In January there were three podiums in Wengen, Kitzbühel and Garmisch -Partenkirchen. In total, he drove in seven runs in the top six, thus reaching behind the Swiss Urs Räber second place in the downhill World Cup. A possible victory in the downhill World Cup, he missed by a fall in the last race in Whistler. Ironically, the highlight of the season, the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, he could not confirm his good World Cup results. With the eleventh place and nearly 1.5 seconds behind the winner, Bill Johnson, he suffered a severe disappointment.
In the fall of 1984 Resch suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which is why he could not attend competitions throughout the season 1984/85 on. The next winter he reached back three podiums (third rank in Schladming and each second place in the two runs on the Streif in Kitzbühel), which he finished seventh in the downhill World Cup. In the season 1986/87 he went in January again twice on the podium (third place in Laax and second rank in Kitzbühel), but the highlight of the season, the 1987 World Championships in Crans -Montana, he remained with rank 16 far behind expectations. Shortly afterwards he had after a new injury his career again interrupt for one year.
After the second serious injury Resch no longer found his way back to his old form. Over the next three years, he came in the World Cup still several times into the top ten, but top results were from, why he did not come in the downhill also be used at the World Championships in 1989 and 1991. But with the World Cup 1991 he was able to start in the combination in which he in the downhill but no longer took place in the slalom after eight. After the 1990/91 season, he finished his career at the age of 30 years.
In December 2004, Resch opened a ski and sports center on the Katschberg.
Sporting successes
Olympic Winter Games
- Sarajevo 1984: 11 Departure
World Championships
- Schladming 1982: 3rd exit
- Crans -Montana 1987: 16 Departure
European Junior Championships
- Achenkirch 1979 1st exit
World Cup
- Season 1981/82: 4 downhill World Cup
- 1982/83 season: 4 downhill World Cup
- Season 1983/84: 2nd downhill World Cup
- Season 1985/86: 7 downhill World Cup
- 13 podiums including 3 victories:
European Cup
- 1979/ 80: 4th exit summary
- A victory ( first exit in Méribel 1979/80 ) and a third place
Austrian Championships
- Two-time Austrian champion in downhill in 1986 and 1990