Josef Bradl

Who was Josef Bradl?

Josef "Sepp" / "Bubi" Bradl was an Austrian ski jumper who competed during the 1930s and 1950s. He was born in Wasserburg am Inn, Bavaria. He won the ski jumping gold medal at the 1939 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane while competing under Nazi Germany in the wake of Austria being annexed in late 1938. He was the first man to perform a "flight" of more than 100 meters, on March 5, 1936, in Planica, Slovenia.

Following World War II, Bradl returned to competition in the early 1950s and was the first winner of the Four Hills Tournament in 1952/53, this time representing his home country of Austria. He would earn one of his post-World War 2 victories at the Olympia hill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany in 1953 as part of the Four Hills tournament, then earn his final career victory the following year in Bischofshofen, Austria.

After retiring he was a ski jumping coach, coaching the national teams of Germany and Austria.