Gertrud Gabl (26 August 1948 – 18 January 1976) was an alpine skier from Austria. She competed in several events at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics with the best result of 9th place in the giant slalom in 1968.[1][2]

Gertrud Gabl
Gertrud Gabl c. 1968
Personal information
Born(1948-08-26)26 August 1948
St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria
Died18 January 1976(1976-01-18) (aged 27)
St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill, giant slalom, slalom
World Cup debutJanuary 1967 (age 18)
inaugural season
RetiredMarch 1972 (age 23)
World Cup
Seasons6 – (1967-1972)
Wins7 – (2 GS, 5 SL)
Podiums17 – (7 GS, 10 SL)
Overall titles1 – (1969)
Discipline titles1 – (1 SL)

Her best season was 1968/69, when she won the Alpine Skiing World Cup.[3] Her uncle Franz Gabl was also an Olympic alpine skier.[1]

In the 1968 Winter Olympics she was 9th in the giant slalom and 12th in the downhill; she didn't finish the slalom. In the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1970 she was 4th in the slalom and 5th in the giant slalom.

In the World Cup she scored her first world cup points on 19 January 1967, when she finished fifth in the slalom at Schruns. Later she went on to win five slaloms and two giant slaloms.

Her father Josef was also an excellent ski racer.

She won the Overall Alpine Skiing World Cup in 1969, the same year as Karl Schranz did it for the men. Both of them came from the same village, St. Anton am Arlberg, ant that is the only time that the women's and men's overall champions hailed from the same village.

Death

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On 18 January 1976 Gabl was skiing with two friends on the northern slope of Mount Gamberg at the ski resort of St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria, when an avalanche buried the three, and she was killed. Her two companions were rescued alive. [4]

World Cup results

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Season titles

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  • 2 titles – (1 overall, 1 slalom)
Season
Discipline
1969 Overall
Slalom

Season standings

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Season
Age Overall Slalom Giant
Slalom
Super G Downhill Combined
1967 18 18 11 19 not
run
not
run
1968 19 7   4
1969 20       19
1970 21 16 15 13
1971 22 9 8 4
1972 23 19 12 19

Race victories

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  • 7 wins – (5 SL, 2 GS)
  • 17 podiums – (10 SL, 7 GS)
Season
Date Location Discipline
1968
3 victories
(2 SL, 1 GS)
11 January 1968   Grindelwald, Switzerland Slalom
5 April 1968   Heavenly Valley, USA Giant slalom
6 April 1968 Slalom
1969
4 victories
(3 SL, 1 GS)
4 January 1969   Oberstaufen, West Germany Slalom
7 January 1969   Grindelwald, Switzerland Slalom
16 February 1969   Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia Slalom
17 February 1969 Giant slalom

World Championship results

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Year
Age Slalom Giant
Slalom
Super G Downhill Combined
1968 19 DNF 9 not
run
12
1970 21 4 5

Olympic results

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Year
Age Slalom Giant
Slalom
Super G Downhill Combined
1968 19 DNF 9 not
run
12
1972 23 DNF DNF

References

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  1. ^ a b Gertrud Gabl Archived July 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ Gertrude Gabl. fis-ski.com
  3. ^ "skiidrett – verdenscupvinnere i alpint – Store norske leksikon". Snl.no. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  4. ^ "Gertrud Gabl Succumbs After Avalanche Hits", Bridgeport (CT) Telegram, January 19, 1976, p. 8
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