Felix Gottwald

Felix Gottwald (born 13 January 1976 in Zell am See) is a former Austrian Nordic combined. It is equipped with three gold, one silver and three bronze medals of the most successful athletes of the Austrian Olympic history. Overall, he won 18 medals at Olympics and World Championships, as many as no other of its sport.

Career

Felix Gottwald launches for the SC Saalfelden and is considered one of the strongest skiers among the combiners. So far he was able to win 23 World Cup victories. He was the World Cup overall champion in 2001, in the years 2002, 2003 and 2010, he finished each ranked second. With major sporting events he has won 18 medals. In 2003 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal.

With seven Olympic medals he is the most successful Olympic athletes of Austria. At the Olympic Games of Torino 2006 Gottwald had the great chance of his first individual gold medal at a major event, which he did in sprint competition also could achieve later. After jumping in eleventh lying he fought his way cross-country to the leading group approach and launched on the last climb together with the German Georg Hettich a successful breakaway. Through his comeback, however, the Zeller could no longer set and finally Hettich had narrowly beaten. In the team competition, he won the gold medal with Mario Stecher, Christoph Bieler and Michael Gruber. After jumping Austria was still in second place; Gottwald ran as a third man and made ​​a great contribution to the Austrian victory. He was able to Ronny Ackermann - make up a lot of time and the goalkeeper Mario Stecher provide a good starting point - the third leg of the Germans. In the final sprint competition Felix Gottwald took place after twelve by the jumping gold ahead of Norway's Magnus Moan and the German Georg Hettich, who was in the lead after the jumping.

Felix Gottwald finished with a second place in the sprint at Holmenkollen in Oslo on 18 March 2007 his active career. His home club named after him, the Felix Gottwald ski jump stadium in Uttenhofen. He published the end of 2008 his autobiography A day in my life.

17 May 2009 Gottwald announced his new start in the Nordic combined. In his first two competitions, the Austrian Championships on 17 and 18 October 2009, he took second place in each of the normal and large hill. After he had to cancel the planned comeback in the World Cup after almost three years of absence on November 28, 2009 in Kuusamo due to illness, he started in Lillehammer still somewhat weakened and reached the ranks 15 and 12 The measures provided for Harrachov races were canceled and it was followed by three races in his adopted homeland of Ramsau. He showed places two, five and three.

In Oberhof, Germany, he was second twice. He has reached absolute fastest times in both races and won over one minute in running. On January 9, 2010, he finally won his first World Cup race after the comeback in Val di Fiemme. At the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010, he finished in the competition on the normal hill Rank 14 On 23 February 2010 he eventually caught up with Mario Stecher, David Kreiner and Bernhard Gruber in the team competition again Olympic Gold. After a jump to 125 m in the jump competition Gottwald supplied in cross country skiing competition in a duel with the American Johnny Spillane. At the last rise before the handover, he hung from Spillane and handed with about 14 seconds ahead of runner -circuit Mario Stecher. With this gold medal Gottwald also sparked Toni Sailer and Thomas Morgenstern from Austria's most successful Olympic athletes.

In the second comeback year he won 27 November 2010 the individual competition in Kuusamo with a spectacular comeback: after jumping only 26, he managed to catch km cross-country all of two minutes behind the 10 and therefore for a new record in this competition to worry.

After settling on 14 December 2010 in a practice crash from 60m - had suffered a fracture of the right scapula hill in Villach, he only 25 days later won the 10km World Cup competition in the German Schonach before his teammate Mario Stecher and Bernhard Gruber and made due to the extremely short recovery status for attention.

On 13 January 2011, exactly on his 35th birthday, Felix Gottwald announced his plans for the time after the retirement. He will work in the future as a mentor with the Loipersdorf, hold management seminars and be active as ambassadors for the Salzburg Tourism Society.

In the Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo Gottwald conquered 26 February 2011 its now 6 bronze medal at the World Championships. Two days later he was with David Kreiner, Bernhard Gruber and Mario Stecher team world champion on the normal hill. Gottwald went there as a third Austrians down the track, it was more than 19 seconds, or two places to make up and handed over as the leader of Mario Stecher. On March 4, 2011 Gottwald won with the unchanged season in his last shows, at major events, including a gold medal in the team event from the large hill.

One week after the end of the World Championships in Oslo ended Gottwald at the World Cup finals in Lahti his career. In his last race he ran from 23rd place after the jumping to third place. In the overall standings, he also finished third.

With the issue of doping Gottwald comes to very offensive. In an interview shortly before the start of the season 2009, he said: " It is crucial that you are happy with yourself in life. If you dopst, manipulate, cheat, then this is not possible. "

Sporting successes

World Cup wins

World Cup Stats

The table shows the achieved placings in detail.

  • Place 1st-3rd. Number of podiums
  • Top 10: Number of placings in the top ten
  • Points ranking: number of placements within the points positions
  • Start: Number overflowed race in the respective discipline

Awards (excerpt)

  • 2001: Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
  • 2003: Holmenkollen medal
  • 2006: Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
  • 2006: Ring of Salzburg

LOTTERY -GALA " Night of Sports ":

  • Team of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010
  • Special Award ( Unique career): 2007
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