Wolfgang Loitzl Profile
Austrian Ski Jumper Finally Lives Up To Potential
Austrian ski jumper Wolfgang Loitzl waited a long time for his first World Cup victory but collected three in a row in capturing the Four Hills crown and finally living up to his star potential.
Begin In Bischofshofen
Loitzl was born on January 13, 1980 in Bad Ischl in Austria. The Harley Davidson and computer fan began competing for the Austrian Ski Federation in 1995 and made his ski jumping World Cup debut on January 6, 1997 in Bischofshofen.
Success In Team Events
The part-time soldier's initial success came as part of the Austrian team, winning World Championship gold in 2001 in the normal hill team competition and team bronze in the large hill. Loitzl helped Austria to the team bronze again in the 2004 ski jumping worlds. And in 2005, he won team gold in the normal and large hill competitions in Oberstdorf. An Olympic gold in 2006 followed in team jumping and Loitzl and Austria won large hill gold at the 2007 worlds.
Second Place Was Best
Loitzl's first individual podium finish came in the 2000-01 season when he took second in Park City and Sapporo. Three third-placed finishes in individual jumps followed over the next seven seasons. This season started in great fashion for Loitzl, grabbing second place in Kuusamo, Finland in late November. He struggled in Trondheim and Pragelato but then took second place in both jumps in Engelberg, Switzerland a week before the start of the Four Hills.
One More Second Place
Loitzl continued his impressive run in taking second place in the first leg of the Four Hills in Oberstdorf. He finished just 1.2 points behind Simon Ammann and was ready to take the final step upwards on the podium.
Finally A Winner
Loitzl's work finally paid off on New Year's Day 2009 as he won the Garmisch-Partenkirch jump for his first win on the World Cup circuit - 13 years and 222 World Cup jumps after his career started. He would then capture two more victories in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen to complete his amazing run.
Loitzl Of All Austrians
Loitzl's Four Hills title brought the hallowed ski jumping hardware back to Austria for the first time since Andreas Widhoelzl won in 1999-2000. And it's quite surprising that Loitzl was the one to bring the glory back to Austria when one considers that Austrian Thomas Morgenstern was the 2007-08 overall World Cup winner with 10 of his 12 career victories last winter including six straight. And Gregor Schlierenzauer has grabbed 13 World Cup wins during his short career.
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