View source for Toni Sailer

{{Short description|Austrian alpine ski racer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox alpine ski racer
| name          = Toni Sailer
| image         = Stig Sollander, Tony Sailer and Chiharu Chick Igaya 1956 - Sailer cropped.jpg
| caption       = Sailer in 1956
| disciplines   = [[Downhill (ski competition)|Downhill]], [[giant slalom]],<br />[[Slalom skiing|slalom]], [[Alpine skiing combined|combined]]
| club          = [[Kitzbühel]] Ski Club<ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/toni-sailer-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417223554/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/toni-sailer-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1935|11|17|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Kitzbühel]], Tyrol, Austria
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2009|08|24|1935|11|17|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Innsbruck]], Tyrol, Austria
| height        = 1.83 m<ref name=boofco>{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1131075/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901074843/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1131075/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 September 2009 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Rospigliosi |first=William |title=Beau of Cortina |date=13 February 1956 |page=20}}</ref>
| wcdebut       = 
| retired       = 1959 (age 23)
| website       = 
| olympicteams  = 1 – ([[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]])
| olympicmedals = 3
| olympicgolds  = 3
| worldsteams   = 3 – ([[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1954|1954]], [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics|1956]], [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958]])
| worldsmedals  = 8
| worldsgolds   = 7
| wcseasons     = 
| wcwins        = 
| wcpodiums     = 
| wcoveralls    = 
| wctitles      = 
| medals        =
{{MedalSport | Men's [[alpine skiing]] }}
{{MedalCountry | {{AUT}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Winter Olympics|1956 Cortina]] | [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's downhill|Downhill]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Winter Olympics|1956 Cortina]] | [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's giant slalom|Giant slalom]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Winter Olympics|1956 Cortina]] | [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's slalom|Slalom]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships|World Championships]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1956|1956 Cortina]] | [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's downhill|Downhill]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1956|1956 Cortina]] | [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's giant slalom|Giant slalom]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1956|1956 Cortina]] | [[Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's slalom|Slalom]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1956|1956 Cortina]] | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1956#Combined|Combined]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958 Bad Gastein]] | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958#Downhill|Downhill]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958 Bad Gastein]] | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958#Giant slalom|Giant slalom]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958 Bad Gastein]] | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958#Combined|Combined]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958 Bad Gastein]] | [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958#Slalom|Slalom]] }}
| show-medals   = yes
}}

'''Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer''' (17 November 1935 – 24 August 2009) was an Austrian [[Alpine skiing|alpine ski racer]], considered among the best in the sport. At age 20, he won all three gold medals in [[alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics]].<ref name=boofco /><ref name=tsrsa>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/sports/skiing/26sailer.html?_r=0 |newspaper=New York Times |last=Litsky |first=Frank |title=Toni Sailer, record-setting gold medal skier, dies at 73 |date=26 August 2009 |page=A21}}</ref> He nearly duplicated the feat at the [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958 World Championships]] with two golds and a silver.<ref name=bdabg>{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1001833/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222043502/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1001833/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 February 2014 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Wernick |first=Robert |title=Bad day at Bad Gastein |date=17 February 1958 |page=40}}</ref> He also won world titles both years in the [[Alpine skiing combined|combined]], then a "paper" race, but awarded with medals by the [[International Ski Federation]] (FIS).

==Career==
Born and raised in [[Kitzbühel]] in [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]], Sailer was nicknamed "Blitz from Kitz" (Blitz = [[German language|German]] word for "bolt of [[lightning]]" or "flash").<ref name=tsrsa /> A phenomenon as a teenager, he won the downhill and combined at the Grand Prix at [[Megève]] in 1952 at age 16. A broken leg caused him to miss the 1953 season and kept him from performing well at the World Championships in [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1954|1954]].<ref name=teoaer>{{cite magazine |url=http://skiracing.com/stories/end-era-toni-sailer-dead-73/ |magazine=Ski Racing |last=Williams |first=Eric |title=The end of an era, Toni Sailer dead at 73 |date=15 September 2009 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref> He returned to championship form in 1955 at age 19 and the following year became the first to win all three alpine skiing events at the Olympics, taking gold in the downhill, slalom, and giant slalom by 3.5, 4.2 and 6.2 seconds, respectively.<ref name=sr /><ref name=tsdast>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-toni-sailer26-2009aug26,0,6756052.story#axzz2ufPLeksg |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |agency=staff and wire reports |title=Toni Sailer dies at 73; Austrian skier won all 3 Alpine golds at '56 Olympics |date=26 August 2009 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref> He was the fifth athlete to win three gold medals in the same Olympic games, and became the most successful athlete at the 1956 Winter Olympics. The [[Super-G]] event did not exist until the 1980s. It was added to the Olympics in 1988.  Through [[Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics|2014]], Sailer remains the youngest male gold medalist in Olympic alpine skiing.

From [[Alpine skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948]] through [[Alpine skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980]], Olympic alpine ski events doubled as the [[International Ski Federation|FIS]] [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships|World Championships]], therefore the Olympic champion in any event was also the world champion. The [[Alpine skiing combined|combined]] event was dropped after 1948 to make way for the [[giant slalom]] in [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1950|1950]]. No Olympic medals were awarded for the combined event from [[Alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics|1952]] through [[Alpine skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics|1984]], but it was an FIS world championship from [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1954|1954]] through 1980. During this era, it was conducted as a "paper" race, using the results of the three events. A stand-alone combined event returned to the world championships in [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1982|1982]] and to the Olympics in [[Alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics|1988]], with one run of downhill and two runs of slalom.

Two years after the 1956 Olympics, Sailer won three gold medals and one silver at the [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958|1958 World Championships]] in [[Bad Gastein]], [[Austria]]. He won five of six possible Olympic/World Championship races, missing a perfect record with a silver in the Bad Gastein [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1958#Slalom|slalom]], seven-tenths of a second back. Sailer also repeated as champion in the combined for a seventh world title in two years. Due to controversy over his amateur status after receiving compensation for acting (and skiing) in movies, he retired from ski racing competition in 1959.<ref name=tsrn1>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h2YcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Wk4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7233%2C612123 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Press |agency=UPI |title=Toni Sailer ranked No. 1 in skiing |date=4 January 1959 |page=2, section 4}}</ref><ref name=ractri>{{cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1960/11/21/racing-toward-riches |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Ball |first=Robert |title=Racing toward riches |date=21 November 1960 |page=50}}</ref>

==After racing==
[[File:Toni Sailer.jpg|thumb|Toni Sailer in front of his house in Kitzbühel, 1998]]
Sailer's business interests included ski clothing and equipment, including the first successful [[fiberglass]] skis, made in [[Montreal, Quebec]], Canada.<ref name=ractri /><ref name=saisks>{{cite web |url=http://retro-skiing.com/2011/02/sailer-skis/ |publisher=RetroSki |last=Morrill |first=Greg |title=Sailer Skis |date=13 February 2011 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref> In 1957–71, he appeared in a handful of movies, most of them shallow comedies at least partly set in alpine regions, with Sailer showing off his talent. In 1972–76, he was chief trainer and technical director of the Austrian Skiing Association (ÖSV).<ref name=sr /> During the 1960s and 1970s, he ran a summer ski camp at [[Whistler Blackcomb|Whistler]] in western Canada.<ref name=whisglac>{{cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1981/06/01/footloose-olympic-hero-toni-sailer-teaches-ski-racing-atop-a-canadian-glacier |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Verschoth |first=Anita |title=Olympic hero Toni Sailer teaches ski racing atop a canadian glacier |date=1 June 1981 |page=6}}</ref> Occasionally, as late as 2003 he was noted for appearing in a number of TV episodes or made for TV movies.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0756539/ Toni Sailer]. IMDb</ref> He also sang professionally for a time, making 18 record albums.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/toni-sailer-olympic-skiing-champion-of-grace-and-power-who-went-on-to-a-career-in-films-and-pop-music-1779727.html Toni Sailer: Olympic skiing champion of grace and power who went on to a career in films and pop music] [[The Independent]], Retrieved 20 April 2010</ref>

Sailer, although not associated with any political party, announced in January 2004 that he would run for Mayor of Kitzbühel. A few weeks later he withdrew his candidature, saying he had only now realized that being mayor was a full-time job. In 2006 he announced his retirement as ''chief of race'' of the [[Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel|Hahnenkamm]] Race, a position which he had occupied for 20 years.<ref name=indob>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/toni-sailer-olympic-skiing-champion-of-grace-and-power-who-went-on-to-a-career-in-films-and-pop-music-1779727.html |newspaper=The Independent |last=Carlson |first=Michael |title=Toni Sailer: Olympic skiing champion of grace and power who went on to a career in films and pop music |date=31 August 2009 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref>

==Honors==
Sailer was named [[Austrian Sportspersonality of the year]] in 1956, 1957, and 1958,<ref>{{austriaforum|AEIOU/Sportler%2C_Sportlerin_des_Jahres/Sportler%2C_Sportlerin_des_Jahres_english|Sportswoman/man of the year}}</ref> and "Austrian Sportspersonality of the Century" in 1999. On 16 September 1958, he was featured on the cover of [[Bravo (magazine)|Bravo magazine]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.bravo.de/online/render.php?render=19988&size= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720154222/http://www.bravo.de/online/render.php?render=19988&size= |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 July 2012 |title=BRAVO 38/58, 16.09.1958 |magazine=[[Bravo (magazine)|Bravo]] |access-date=26 January 2009 }}</ref><ref name=obitguar>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/aug/31/toni-sailor-obituary |newspaper=The Guardian |last=Williams |first=Richard |title=Obituary: Toni Sailer |date=31 August 2009 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref>

For his contribution to the Olympic Movement, the [[International Olympic Committee]] awarded him the Bronze [[Olympic Order]] in 1982.

==Personal life==
Sailer married Gaby Rummeny in 1976 in Vancouver; she died of cancer in 2000. His second marriage, to Hedwig Fischer, lasted from 2006 until his death.<ref name=tsrsa /><ref>[http://tirol.orf.at/stories/385032 Skilegende Toni Sailer ist tot]. Tirol.orf.at (25 August 2009). Retrieved on 2015-06-02.</ref> His son Florian (by Rummeny) also survives him.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090828010324/http://www.abendzeitung.de/sport/mehr_sport/127791 Toni Sailer: "Wenn der Tod kommt, dann kommt er"]. abendzeitung.de. 25 August 2009</ref>

==Death==
It was announced in January 2008 that Sailer had [[laryngeal cancer]], for which he had been undergoing chemotherapy in the preceding months.<ref>[http://www.oe24.at/zeitung/leute/article211171.ece Toni Sailer hat Kehlkopfkrebs]. Oe24.at (12 January 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-02.</ref> He died of cancer in [[Innsbruck]], aged 73, in 2009, and was buried in Kitzbühel. His funeral ceremonies took place near the [[Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel|Hahnenkamm]] finish line.<ref name=sfsahf>{{cite news |url=http://skiracing.com/stories/sailer-funeral-set-hahnenkamm-finish/ |magazine=Ski Racing |last=Rugh |first=Pete |title=Sailer funeral set at Hahnenkamm finish |date=27 August 2009 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
* ''[[A Piece of Heaven]]'' (1957)
* ''[[A Thousand Stars Aglitter]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Twelve Girls and One Man]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon]]'' (1961)
* ''[[His Best Friend (1962 film)|Sein bester Freund]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Sansone e il tesoro degli Incas]]'' (1964)
* ''Das Blaue vom Himmel'' (1964, TV film)
* ''[[Ski Fever]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Aunt Trude from Buxtehude]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Holidays in Tyrol]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Wenn das die Nachbarn wüßten]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Almenrausch und Pulverschnee]]'' (1993, TV series)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{FIS alpine skier}}
* {{Ski-DB}}
* {{Olympics.com}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{Team Austria|toni-sailer/514}}
* [http://www.austrianinformation.org/winter-2009/toni-sailer-1935-2009.html Toni Sailer (1935–2009) – AustrianInformation.org]
* [http://www.nevasport.com/nevablogs/detalle.php?id_blogs=31&id_articulos=1678 Toni Sailer, skier, actor and singer (with images) – NevaSport.com]
* {{IMDb name|0756539}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110124035433/http://www.hahnenkamm.com/toni-sailer-129.html Toni Sailer – Kitzbühel legends – Hahnenkamm.com]
* [http://www.tonisailer.com/en/story/the-legend/ Toni Sailer clothing]
* {{austriaforum|AEIOU/Sailer%2C_Anton_Toni/Sailer%2C_Anton_Toni_english}}

{{Austrian Sportsperson of the Year}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Downhill Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Slalom Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Giant Slalom Men}}
{{Footer World Champions Downhill Men}}
{{Footer World Champions Slalom Men}}
{{Footer World Champions Giant Slalom Men}}
{{Footer World Champions Combined Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sailer, Toni}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Austrian male alpine skiers]]
[[Category:Olympic alpine skiers for Austria]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Austria]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in alpine skiing]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Alpine skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Austrian male film actors]]
[[Category:Austrian male television actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian male actors]]
[[Category:Skiers from Kitzbühel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Olympic Order]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Austria]]
[[Category:Deaths from laryngeal cancer]]
[[Category:Male actors from Tyrol (federal state)]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian sportsmen]]