I was 11 years old in 1976 and I can still hear today the boys in my school saying Franz Klammer this, Franz Klammer that after he took the gold. Every time we’d go sledding that winter and someone managed some speed he was hailed as a Franz Klammer. A few years later when afterschool trips to the local (small) ski hills became a thing for us, it was still a thing…if you were fast, you were Franz Klammer.
And to think he and the others raced without benefit of the big blue lines they use today!
I watched the coverage of Klammer’s run as a kid. Imagine what it felt like when I covered the Albertville Olympics decades later and found myself sitting next to Franz watching a replay of the downhill as he explained each turn and nuance of the race. Thankfully one of the crew members turned the camera on us and I have a piece of video that I will always treasure!
Glad you enjoyed it. Re-living this was very special to me personally as I so vividly remember that night 50 years ago when I watched it on television. I wish I could find the tape of the ABC anchorman Jim McKay talking prior to Klammer's run. In my memory I recall McKay building it up to the point where it sounded like the entire country of Austria was going to have an economic crisis if Klammer didn't win. But sadly, that tape, if it exists is not publicly available.
I can imagine what KcKay's narrative would have been. I, too, was glued to the TV for the '76 Olympics as a kid. The announcers were such a part of the story, rather than relying on the graphics department. No green-screens back then. The phrase, "The agony of defeat" to this day elicits a singular image. Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much. So glad you enjoyed this piece. I've been waiting for a long time to get to the 50 year mark to cover this in The Sports Time Traveler. I wanted to publish the article on February 6th, exactly 50 years since the newspaper coverage. But I also wanted to do justice to this great event, so I spent a few more days to get the article to where I thought it was worthy of publication.
This was an absolute core memory of my childhood. My whole family watched every second of this and I can still remember how it felt to experience it. Wonderful recounting of it thank you!
Yes, it was very much a core memory for me too. I've been waiting for several years to write this article. I wanted to wait until the 50th anniversary. There is something just very special about that in my way of thinking. This was perhaps the easiest article to write of the over 400 in my archives. All I had to do was remember, and the words just starting pouring out of me. It was fun to re-live the memory this way, and re-capture one of the great moments of my youth in a way that I can cherish it forever.
Thanks for your sharing your experience around this incredible moment in sports history. It makes me feel incredibly lucky that I actually got to see it "live" when it aired on American TV 50 years ago.
Wow! That must have been awesome to have watched this remarkable moment in history on live TV with a group of students. I was in my den watching alone on Feb 5, 1976.
Thanks so much for your comment. Enabling people to experience long ago events, with the excitement they generated at that time, is exactly what I strive to provide in The Sports Time Traveler.
As an American I grew up in Austria chasing Klammer around as a fanboy at races. He was mythical. When I ski now I still pretend I am Klammer. My wife prays I don't break a hip pretending to be my hero.
Saw this one live on Wide World of Sports…. me and friends still have not quit talking about this every time the Winter Olympics roll around. This was insane!
As I was researching my article I saw there was a YouTube video available of Klammer discussing his famous run for the gold. I need to go back and find that.
I'm curious to know, when you interviewed him did he feel like he was always in control, or does he feel like it was extraordinary good fortune that he never wiped out on that run?
I was 11 years old in 1976 and I can still hear today the boys in my school saying Franz Klammer this, Franz Klammer that after he took the gold. Every time we’d go sledding that winter and someone managed some speed he was hailed as a Franz Klammer. A few years later when afterschool trips to the local (small) ski hills became a thing for us, it was still a thing…if you were fast, you were Franz Klammer.
And to think he and the others raced without benefit of the big blue lines they use today!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I watched the coverage of Klammer’s run as a kid. Imagine what it felt like when I covered the Albertville Olympics decades later and found myself sitting next to Franz watching a replay of the downhill as he explained each turn and nuance of the race. Thankfully one of the crew members turned the camera on us and I have a piece of video that I will always treasure!
Wow! That's incredible. Is that interview publicly available?
No, it was part of coverage for a corporate sponsor. I have the clip of me sitting with Franz on a reel. I need to dig it out of the archives, lol.
Thanks for letting us relive such an incredible moment!
Glad you enjoyed it. Re-living this was very special to me personally as I so vividly remember that night 50 years ago when I watched it on television. I wish I could find the tape of the ABC anchorman Jim McKay talking prior to Klammer's run. In my memory I recall McKay building it up to the point where it sounded like the entire country of Austria was going to have an economic crisis if Klammer didn't win. But sadly, that tape, if it exists is not publicly available.
I can imagine what KcKay's narrative would have been. I, too, was glued to the TV for the '76 Olympics as a kid. The announcers were such a part of the story, rather than relying on the graphics department. No green-screens back then. The phrase, "The agony of defeat" to this day elicits a singular image. Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much. So glad you enjoyed this piece. I've been waiting for a long time to get to the 50 year mark to cover this in The Sports Time Traveler. I wanted to publish the article on February 6th, exactly 50 years since the newspaper coverage. But I also wanted to do justice to this great event, so I spent a few more days to get the article to where I thought it was worthy of publication.
This was an absolute core memory of my childhood. My whole family watched every second of this and I can still remember how it felt to experience it. Wonderful recounting of it thank you!
Yes, it was very much a core memory for me too. I've been waiting for several years to write this article. I wanted to wait until the 50th anniversary. There is something just very special about that in my way of thinking. This was perhaps the easiest article to write of the over 400 in my archives. All I had to do was remember, and the words just starting pouring out of me. It was fun to re-live the memory this way, and re-capture one of the great moments of my youth in a way that I can cherish it forever.
Been saying this all my adult life, and I'm a sportswriter. The best 2 minutes in sports sums it up perfectly. So exciting!
Thanks for your sharing your experience around this incredible moment in sports history. It makes me feel incredibly lucky that I actually got to see it "live" when it aired on American TV 50 years ago.
That was awesome. I was too young to see it live, my first memories were of Pirmin Zurbriggen.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting.
Thank you for shining a light on this. Exquisite 🤌🏻
Thanks! I appreciate your feedback.
I was 10 and still remember watching this and still consider it as one of the most "clutch" performances in sports!
Yes, you captured it well. It is perhaps the all-time greatest clutch performance. Thank for sharing your comment.
As an American living in Milan Italy, our teacher rolled a TV into the classroom and we all watched this live. What a great teacher and school (ASM)!
Wow! That must have been awesome to have watched this remarkable moment in history on live TV with a group of students. I was in my den watching alone on Feb 5, 1976.
I recall it vaguely as a 9 year old. Thanks for retroactively bringing it back to my mind in startling detail. Great article.
Thanks so much for your comment. Enabling people to experience long ago events, with the excitement they generated at that time, is exactly what I strive to provide in The Sports Time Traveler.
As an American I grew up in Austria chasing Klammer around as a fanboy at races. He was mythical. When I ski now I still pretend I am Klammer. My wife prays I don't break a hip pretending to be my hero.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. And stay safe on the slopes.
Still gives me chills watching Klammer’s performance decades later
That's exactly how I felt when I watched it and wrote this article. It truly was one of the most dramatic 2 minutes of sports ever.
Saw this one live on Wide World of Sports…. me and friends still have not quit talking about this every time the Winter Olympics roll around. This was insane!
Insane is a great one-word description of it. I think any of us that saw it live that day would totally agree.
As I was researching my article I saw there was a YouTube video available of Klammer discussing his famous run for the gold. I need to go back and find that.
I'm curious to know, when you interviewed him did he feel like he was always in control, or does he feel like it was extraordinary good fortune that he never wiped out on that run?