Karl Schranz

Who is Karl Schranz?

Karl Schranz is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria, one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Born and raised in St. Anton, Tyrol, Schranz had a lengthy ski career, from 1957 to 1972. He won twenty major downhills, many major giant slalom races and several major slaloms. Late in his career he was the successor to Jean-Claude Killy as the World Cup overall champion; Schranz won the title at age 30 in the third World Cup season of 1969, and repeated in 1970. He was also the downhill champion for those two seasons and was the giant slalom season champion in 1969. Schranz won the classic Lauberhorn downhill at Wengen, Switzerland, four times and the classic Hahnenkamm downhill at Kitzbühel, Austria, also four times. He also excelled in the legendary Arlberg-Kandahar events that he won nine times, from 1957 to 1970.