Gregor Schlierenzauer
Gregor Schlierenzauer (pronounced [ˈʃliːʁənt͡saʊ̯ɐ]; born 7 January 1990) is an Austrian ski jumper.
He began his senior career in 2005–06 with one win and three additional podiums in the Ski Jumping Grand Prix, and made his World Cup debut in the 2005–06 season. During the 2008–09 World Cup, which he won, he set a series of records, including breaking Janne Ahonen's record of 12 season victories with 13 victories, and also tying Ahonen, Matti Hautamäki and Thomas Morgenstern's record of six consecutive victories. Schlierenzauer also won gold medals, one team medal at 2007 World Championships, and both individual and team medals at the 2008 FIS Ski-Flying World Championships in Oberstdorf. His personal best is 243.5 metres, jumped during the 2010–11 season, in Vikersund, Norway. On 26 January 2013, Schlierenzauer equaled Matti Nykänen's long standing record of 46 World Cup ski jumping victories, and currently has 53 victories to his name.[1]
Early and personal life
Gregor Schlierenzauer was born on 7 January 1990 in Innsbruck, Tyrol, to Paul and Angelika Schlierenzauer.[2] The second of three children, he has an older sister, Gloria, and a younger brother, Lukas. His uncle is Markus Prock, the winner of three Winter Olympic medals in men's luge, who settled him a contract with Fischer Skis in 2001 and a few years later with Red Bull. Schlierenzauer is deaf in the left ear from birth.[2] At age eight, Schlierenzauer began training in ski jumping at SV Innsbruck–Bergisel club. He attended an ordinary Austrian grammar school, however, due to tight schedules in both sport and school, he had problems keeping up with his class work. Schlierenzauer then enrolled at Skigymnasium Stams in Austria, the worlds oldest ski-sport training center and boarding secondary school. He currently resides in Fulpmes, Tyrol.[2]
Schlierenzauer began competing professionally in the 2005–06 season in the Continental Cup, then only fifteen years old. In February 2006, he won the gold medal at the Junior World Championships in Kranj, Slovenia and then Alex Pointner, the coach of the Austrian professional team, called him to compete in the World Cup. Schlierenzauer debuted in the Word Cup finishing in 24th place at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival on 12 March 2006.[3]
Professional career
2006–07 World Cup
On 3 December 2006, Schlierenzauer took his first World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway, and became one of the youngest jumpers to ever win in Lillehammer. He also won in Oberstdorf, Germany, at the Four Hills Tournament 2006–2007. During the Four Hills Tournament, Finnish newspapers claimed that Schlierenzauer was extremely underweight, however, no evidence has ever been found to substantiate this accusation. He won the fourth competition, in Bischofshofen, Austria, on his 17th birthday, but finished the tournament in second place, behind Anders Jacobsen (Norway), and in front of Simon Ammann (Switzerland).
Schlierenzauer took fourth place in World Cup 2006–2007. He was second, but Adam Małysz from Poland ended up taking the first-place position from Anders Jacobsen, so Schlierenzauer finished third. His coach deemed the event in Planica too demanding for 17-year-old Schlierenzauer, so he did not compete there and ended finishing fourth, behind Adam Małysz, Anders Jacobsen and Simon Ammann.
2007–08 World Cup
At the beginning of the World Cup 2007–2008, Schlierenzauer took 2nd place on the World Cup list, behind his team mate Thomas Morgenstern. He also took 2nd place in Oberstdorf,Germany, during the Four Hills Tournament 2007–2008. He won 1st place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,Germany. He took 8th place at the competition in Bischofshofen which was originally to be held in Innsbruck but was moved due to strong winds. He was one of the favorites for the tournament, but, due to variable weather conditions, arrived only in 42nd position in the first series and did not enter the second series. At the end of the Four Hills Tournament, he ended up in 12th place.
He skipped the competitions in Predazzo, where Tom Hilde from Norway took his first World Cup victory, and in Harrachov. On 25 January 2007, Schlierenzauer took his second World Cup victory in Zakopane, Poland. He also skipped the competition in Sapporo, ruining his chance to take the first-place position from his Austrian teammate Thomas Morgenstern.
After two-second-place finishes in Liberec and an eighth-place finish in Willingen, he took part in the FIS Ski Flying World Championships in Oberstdorf in 2008. After four series of competing, he won the gold medal, on 23 February 2008. The next day, on 24 February, the Austrian team, composed of (Schlierenzauer-Thomas Morgenstern-Koch-Kofler) won gold in the team competition.
He also took part in the 2008 Nordic Tournament. He took the second and fourth place at the two competitions in Kuopio and in Lahti which was moved to Kuopio because of bad weather). Winning at the competitions in Lillehammer and Oslo, he won the 2008 Nordic Tournament.
After consecutively winning the last four individual competitions of the season, Schlierenzauer ranked second overall in the 2007–2008 World Cup, 233 points behind his teammate Thomas Morgenstern. In March 2008, he improved the Austrian national record on flying hills to 233.5 meters, which was also the longest jump of Planica 2008 ski jumping events.
2008–09 World Cup
On 11 February 2009, Schlierenzauer became only the fourth jumper to win 6 consecutive World Cup events, tying the record held by Austrian teammate Thomas Morgenstern and Finns Janne Ahonen and Matti Hautamäki. The run of victories came to an end in Oberstdorf during the ski flying event on 14 February, when Schlierenzauer arrived in 8th position.
On 21 February he won silver in the individual normal hill event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec behind fellow Austrian and Four Hills winner Wolfgang Loitzl. One week later, Schlierenzauer won gold in the team large hill event.
He returned to winning ways in individual competition on 8 March at Lahti, Finland, taking his number of wins to 11 for that season, one victory shy of Janne Ahonen's record of 12 wins in one season.
On 20 March he won the ski flying event at Planica, taking his number of wins to 13 for the season record, record of 20 podiums in a season and clinching the 2008–09 world cup title with two flying events left to run. He also achieved a record of 2083 points in the World Cup over a single season, becoming the first person to obtain more than 2000 points.
2009–10 World Cup
In the 2009–10 World Cup, Schlierenzauer finished second behind Simon Ammann. He celebrated 8 World Cup victories including wins in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck during the Four Hills Tournament. Later on he won two individual bronze medals at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and a gold medal in the team competition with Wolfgang Loitzl, Andreas Kofler and Thomas Morgenstern.
2010–11 World Cup
At the beginning of the 2010–11 World Cup, Schlierenzauer suffered an injury and missed the first two events of the Four Hills Tournament. Even though he was recovering from injury, he managed to take two victories at the Vikersund ski flying hill and, later in the season, won three gold medals at FIS Nordic World Ski Championships at Holmenkollen in Oslo.
2011–12 World Cup
Schlierenzauer celebrated his first victory of the 2011–2012 season in Harrachov on 9 December 2011.[4] On 6 January 2012, Schlierenzauer won the 4 Hills Tournament for the first time. As of 5 February 2012, Schlierenzauer has 40 World Cup victories, 1 gold and 2 bronze Olympic medals, and 8 gold and 2 silver medals at World championships.
World Cup
Standings
| Season | Overall | SF | 4H | NT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 73 | N/A | – | 50 |
| 2006–07 | 4 | N/A |  | 24 |
| 2007–08 | | N/A | 12 |  |
| 2008–09 | | |  | |
| 2009–10 | | | 4 | 4 |
| 2010–11 | 9 | | 36 | N/A |
| 2011–12 | | 8 | | N/A |
| 2012–13 | | | | N/A |
| 2013–14 | 6 | | 8 | N/A |
| 2014–15 | 10 | 18 | 7 | N/A |
Wins
| No. | Season | Date | Place | Hill | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006-07 | 3 Dec 2006 |  Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS 138 | LH |
| 2 | 16 Dec 2006 |  Engelberg | Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS 137 | LH | |
| 3 | 30 Dec 2006 |  Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS 137 (night) | LH | |
| 4 | 7 Jan 2007 |  Bischofshofen | Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze HS 140 (night) | LH | |
| 5 | 7 Feb 2007 | Klingenthal | Vogtland Arena HS 140 (night) | LH | |
| 6 | 2007-08 | 1 Jan 2008 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Große Olympiaschanze HS 140 | LH |
| 7 | 25 Jan 2008 |  Zakopane | Wielka Krokiew HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 8 | 7 Mar 2008 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS 138 (night) | LH | |
| 9 | 9 Mar 2008 | Oslo | Holmenkollbakken HS 128 | LH | |
| 10 | 14 Mar 2008 |  Planica | Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS 215 | FH | |
| 11 | 16 Mar 2008 | Planica | Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS 215 | FH | |
| 12 | 2008-09 | 6 Dec 2008 | Trondheim | Granåsen HS 140 (night) | LH |
| 13 | 21 Dec 2008 | Engelberg | Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS 137 | LH | |
| 14 | 10 Jan 2009 | Tauplitz | Kulm HS 200 | FH | |
| 15 | 11 Jan 2009 | Tauplitz | Kulm HS 200 | FH | |
| 16 | 17 Jan 2009 | Zakopane | Wielka Krokiew HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 17 | 24 Jan 2009 |  Whistler | Whistler Olympic Park HS 140 | LH | |
| 18 | 25 Jan 2009 | Whistler | Whistler Olympic Park HS 140 | LH | |
| 19 | 31 Jan 2009 |  Sapporo | Okurayama HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 20 | 8 Feb 2009 | Willingen | Mühlenkopfschanze HS 145 (night) | LH | |
| 21 | 11 Feb 2009 | Klingenthal | Vogtland Arena HS 140 (night) | LH | |
| 22 | 8 Mar 2009 |  Lahti | Salpausselkä HS 97 | NH | |
| 23 | 15 Mar 2009 | Vikersund | Vikersundbakken HS 207 (night) | FH | |
| 24 | 20 Mar 2009 | Planica | Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS 215 | FH | |
| 25 | 2009-10 | 5 Dec 2009 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS 138 (night) | LH |
| 26 | 19 Dec 2009 | Engelberg | Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS 137 | LH | |
| 27 | 10 Jan 2009 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Große Olympiaschanze HS 140 | LH | |
| 28 | 3 Jan 2010 | Innsbruck | Bergiselschanze HS 130 | LH | |
| 29 | 10 Jan 2010 | Tauplitz | Kulm HS 200 | FH | |
| 30 | 22 Jan 2010 | Zakopane | Wielka Krokiew HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 31 | 23 Jan 2010 | Zakopane | Wielka Krokiew HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 32 | 6 Feb 2010 | Willingen | Mühlenkopfschanze HS 145 (night) | LH | |
| 33 | 2010-11 | 12 Feb 2011 | Vikersund | Vikersundbakken HS 225 (night) | FH |
| 34 | 13 Feb 2011 | Vikersund | Vikersundbakken HS 225 | FH | |
| 35 | 18 Mar 2011 | Planica | Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS 215 | FH | |
| 36 | 2011-12 | 9 Dec 2011 |  Harrachov | Čerťák HS 142 (night) | LH |
| 37 | 30 Dec 2011 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS 137 (night) | LH | |
| 38 | 1 Jan 2012 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Große Olympiaschanze HS 140 | LH | |
| 39 | 21 Jan 2012 | Zakopane | Wielka Krokiew HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 40 | 4 Feb 2012 |  Val di Fiemme | Trampolino dal Ben HS 134 (night) | LH | |
| 41 | 2012-13 | 25 Nov 2012 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS 138 | LH |
| 42 | 8 Dec 2012 |  Soči | RusSki Gorki HS 106 (night) | NH | |
| 43 | 16 Dec 2012 | Engelberg | Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS 137 | LH | |
| 44 | 4 Jan 2013 | Innsbruck | Bergiselschanze HS 130 | LH | |
| 45 | 6 Jan 2013 | Bischofshofen | Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze HS 140 (night) | LH | |
| 46 | 26 Jan 2013 | Vikersund | Vikersundbakken HS 225 | FH | |
| 47 | 2 Feb 2013 | Harrachov | Čerťák HS 205 | FH | |
| 48 | 3 Feb 2013 | Harrachov | Čerťák HS 205 | FH | |
| 49 | 17 Mar 2013 | Oslo | Holmenkollbakken HS 128 | LH | |
| 50 | 22 Mar 2013 | Planica | Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS 215 | FH | |
| 51 | 2013-14 | 29 Nov 2013 | Kuusamo | Rukatunturi HS 142 (night) | LH |
| 52 | 7 Dec 2013 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS 100 (night) | NH | |
| 53 | 2014-15 | 6 Dec 2014 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS 138 (night) | LH |
References
- ↑ "Gregor Schlierenzauer makes ski jumping history". CBC Sports. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gregor Schlierenzauer, profile at Red Bull, retrieved: 09.12.2011
- ↑ Gregor Schlierenzauer profile at The-Sports.org, retrieved: 09.12.2011
- ↑ "Schlierenzauer snaps Kofler streak", Eurosport UK, retrieved: 9 December 2011
External links
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