Egon Zimmermann

Egon Zimmermann[Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics – Men's slalom|], often referred to as Egon Zimmermann II, was a World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Austria. Zimmermann won the Olympic downhill at Patscherkofel in 1964 and won several medals on the professional tour in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Early life

Zimmermann was raised on a farm near Lech, Vorarlberg, with two brothers. Lech blossomed into a ski resort while he was growing up, and his family converted their farm house into a pensione. His childhood coincided with the post-World War II poverty of Austria, so not only did Zimmermann have no formal training, but his skis were often "fourth or fifth-hand." At 15, his father forced him to learn a trade, and he enrolled in a chef program in Paris. Zimmermann returned to Austria by the time he reached 18, and won a clean sweep of the 1958 Junior Championships. When he was promoted to the National team, he commented: "For me it was also the realization of a childhood dream, a dream interrupted by a kitchen."

Career peak and Olympics

Zimmermann won two medals at the 1962 World Championships in Chamonix, a gold in the giant slalom and a bronze in downhill. He was named the "Skier of the Year" in 1963 by European journalists.
For the 1964 Olympics in Austria, the "dashing" and "handsome" Zimmermann was heavily favored to win. However, the course at Patscherkofel was quite difficult, but he still managed to win by 0.74 seconds. He did not enter the
slalom and did not finish the giant slalom. Despite not sweeping the alpine events as did his compatriot Toni Sailer in 1956, Zimmermann appeared on the 10 February 1964 cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in the United States.

Personal life

He owned a hotel in Lech am Arlberg and suffered from multiple sclerosis. Zimmermann also helped create Zimmermann's ski and snowboard in 1969.
Zimmermann died on 23 August 2019 at the age of 80.