At 64, he still cuts an imposing, silver-haired figure, resplendent in green lederhosen and bright red socks at the Austria House where the Alpine nation makes its Olympic hangout. In his pomp, Klammer was renowned for the fearless abandon with which he flew down the slopes. The route to victory, he said, would be “not making mistakes, not missing a gate, not missing a turn. So you have to be smooth and still let it run.” Here it’s easier, it’s more grinding, you don’t have the advantage when you have guts and when you really attack it. “The downhill in Sochi was very, very good for him because it was steep, it was rough and at that time he was the best in those conditions. No man has won back-to-back Olympic downhill golds and the Austrian said conditions here would suit Mayer less than they did four years ago. But he always makes some mistakes, so when he can avoid mistakes he will be up there and he could defend his title,” Klammer told Reuters in an interview on the eve of the Olympic race.
He also rates the chances of his countryman Matthias Mayer winning a second successive downhill gold - although with one important caveat.
“He’s really strong, he’s my favorite but also the Austrians are quite good, so if everything goes right we will make a medal, definitely,” said the 1976 Olympic champion, whose name is still synonymous with the glamour and danger of Alpine ski racing. PYEONGCHANG (Reuters) - Austrian great Franz Klammer says the winner of the men’s downhill in Pyeongchang will be the skier who hits every turn right and makes the fewest mistakes - and he thinks that will be Switzerland’s Beat Feuz.
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