Franz Krienbühl
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Franz Krienbühl (March 24, 1929 – April 16, 2002) was a Swiss speed skater, and is known mostly because of his inventions that changed the sport.
Starting his sporting career only in his late thirties at the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble, Krienbühl mostly skated at the back of the field. However, in 1974, he introduced the one-piece skin suit into speed skating. In spite of the fact that he improved his times dramatically, he was initially laughed at. However, when other skaters also showed improvement, the top skaters quickly switched to the suits as well. Krienbühl also introduced minor improvements for skates.
Krienbühls best performance was the 8th position at the 1976 Olympic 10000 m. He stopped speed skating internationally at age 48 the next season, though he continued to skate competitively until 1986. During his career, he won no less than 14 Swiss Allround Championships. In 1989, Krienbühl was severely injured in a cycling accident. He passed away in the spring of 2002, aged 71.
