Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Traudl Hecher

Traudl Hecher
Hecher in 1962
Personal information
Born(1943-09-28)28 September 1943
Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria
Died10 January 2023(2023-01-10) (aged 79)
Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria
OccupationAlpine skier
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill, giant slalom, slalom, combined
ClubSK Schwaz[1]
World Cup debut7 January 1967 (age 23)
inaugural season
Retired1967 (age 23)
Olympics
Teams2 – (1960, 1964)
Medals2 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams4 – (1960, 1962, 1964, 1966)
     includes two Olympics
Medals2 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons1 – (1967)
Wins0
Podiums2 – (1 GS, 1 SL)
Overall titles0 – (7th in 1967)
Discipline titles0 – (7th in SL 1967)

Waltraud J. "Traudl" Hecher-Görgl (28 September 1943 – 10 January 2023) was an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist.

Career

Hecher won Olympic bronze medals in the downhill in 1960 at Squaw Valley[2] and in 1964 at Innsbruck.[3] Her medal in 1960 at age 16 made her the youngest alpine skiing medalist ever, an honor she retains over fifty years later. She raced through the 1967 season, the first year of World Cup competition.

Personal life

Hecher was born in Schwaz, Tyrol. She retired in the summer of 1967. She later married Anton Görgl and settled in Styria. Her son Stephan Görgl (born 1978) and daughter Elisabeth Görgl (born 1981) are both alpine racers who have represented Austria at the Winter Olympics. Stephan competed in the giant slalom in 2006 and Elisabeth competed in the downhill in 2006 and 2010. She won bronze in the latter, a half-century after her mother won bronze in the same event. One year later, Elisabeth became double world champion in 2011, with victories in both speed events (downhill and super G) at Garmisch. In February 2014, Elisabeth also participated in four disciplines in the 2014 Winter Olympics (downhill, giant slalom, super-G and combined).

Hecher died on 10 January 2023, at the age of 79.[4]

World Cup results

Season standings

Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
slalom
Super-G Downhill Combined
1967 23 7 7 10 not run 9 not run

Race podiums

  • 2 podiums – (1 GS, 1 SL)
Season Date Location Discipline Place
1967 1 February 1967 Italy Monte Bondone, Italy Slalom 3rd
26 March 1967 United States Jackson Hole, United States Giant slalom 3rd

World championship results

  Year    Age   Slalom   Giant 
 slalom 
Super-G Downhill Combined
1960 16 DQ2 25 not run 3
1962 18 12 9 8 6
1964 20 DNF2 8 3
1966 22 13 16

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Normally held in February, the championships were in August in 1966.

Olympic results

  Year    Age   Slalom   Giant 
 slalom 
Super-G Downhill Combined
1960 16 DQ2 25 not run 3 not run
1964 20 DNF2 8 3

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Traudl Hecher". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ "1960 Winter Olympics – Squaw Valley, United States – Alpine Skiing" Archived 19 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved on 29 February 2008).
  3. ^ "1964 Winter Olympics – Innsbruck, Austria – Alpine Skiing" (retrieved on 29 February 2008).
  4. ^ "Traudl Hecher". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 January 2023.