History
The Olympiaregion Seefeld presents:
1964 and 1976 - Olympic Games in Seefeld
The Olympiaregion Seefeld has already twice hosted the Winter Olympics for the disciplines of cross-country skiing and Nordic Combined.
The Games were first opened with the Olympic Fire in Innsbruck in 1964. But this was not only a premiere for Innsbruck/Seefeld – it was also the first time that the Olympic Fire was lit – today this ceremony is a fixed feature of every opening celebration.
The 1976 Winter Olympics also passed through Innsbruck/Seefeld and once again brought thousands of excited fans to the region. There was not escaping the Olympic flair when the then Austrian President Rudolf Kirchschläger officially opened the Games and the cross-country skiers and Nordic Combined competitors sped to possible victory.
The hosts in the region also gave their all to make the days before, during and after the Olympic Games an unforgettable experience and to write history. Packages were created, special Olympic offers were composed and delicious menus were cooked as if there was a gold medal for gastronomy up for grabs too. It’s just the same today…
1985 Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld
The Nordic World Ski Championships take place every second (odd-numbered) year in the disciplines of Nordic Skiing (cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined). The event is organized by the International Ski Federation FIS. In 1985 Seefeld hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships and was able to provide excellent conditions, wonderful scenery and perfect hosts.
We still like to look back on this event and you can still anecdotes about it during après-ski. Since 2004 the region has been carrying on with its internationally recognized successes with the Double World Cup for Nordic Combined, which it hosted for the fourth time in January 2007.
Toni Seelos – a skiing legend in Seefeld
The parallel swing turned a simple goatherd from Seefeld into today’s legendary skiing pioneer.
One of the most famous children of the Olympiaregion Seefeld is certainly ski legend Anton ‘Toni’ Seelos (1911 - 2006), who has unfortunately already passed away. It is not least thanks to him that the region became an insider tip for Alpine skiing too. Then as now it was considered to be a meeting point for numerous illustrious guests from all over the world.
A tremendous run for the finish with the parallel swing
The Austrian skier and skiing coach left his mark on Alpine ski sport like no other in his time. As four-times World Champion he changed the very character of slalom by replacing the traditional stem turn with the parallel swing. “He won after a tremendous run, in a time so fast it was unheard of”. This is how the reporters described the slalom race by the World Champion. Seelos often arrived at the finish ten seconds before his competitors. And how did the country boy manage it? His modest answer: “My training camp in the Alpine pasture, chopping wood is the best training”.
Almost to Olympic victory with a revolutionary technique
He dominated international skiing competitions with his revolutionary technique. After four World Championship titles he could not, unfortunately, add an Olympic success because he was not admitted to the Winter Olympics as he worked as a skiing instructor. So he could only start as the forerunner in the first round in Garmisch-Partenkirchen – where he promptly recorded a time 6 seconds faster than the best competitor and Olympic Champion!
Decisive – Coaching influence
In 1934 he started training the German Christl Cranz, leading her to Olympic victory in 1936 and a total of twelve World Championship titles. The most successful Alpine skier of all times said this of her first training course with Toni Seelos: “For the first time I learned that there is such a thing as skiing technique. Toni Seelos, a master of modern technique, has had a decisive influence on the sport of skiing”. In 1937 he successfully coached the French national team.
Head of Seefeld Skiing School
Seelos, after whom the Olympic ski jumping complex is named, was head of the Skiing School in Seefeld, his home town, until the beginning of the 1980s. Numerous students practised the parallel swing according to the methods of the master while also enjoying the lifestyle and nightlife of Seefeld, a village with the atmosphere of a fashionable tourist metropolis.
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