Klammer, Franz (1953-…), an Austrian skier, was one of the greatest downhill skiers in the history of the sport. In 1974, Klammer won his first World Cup series downhill race and the world championship in the combined (downhill with slalom) event (see Skiing (Alpine competitions) ). During the next 11 years, he won 25 downhill World Cup races, winning the World Cup trophy in the downhill event five times. In the 1974-1975 season, Klammer won eight of the nine downhill events in the World Cup series. He won the gold medal in the Olympic Games downhill competition in 1976. He won his last World Cup downhill race in 1984. A year later, he retired from skiing. Klammer was born on Dec. 3, 1953, in Mooswald, Austria.
