Walter Steiner

Walter Steiner (born February 15, 1951) is a Swiss former ski jumper who competed in the 1970s. Steiner earned a ski jumping silver medal in the Individual large hill at the 1972 Winter Olympics. He also won the ski jumping competition at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1974 and won the Ski-flying World Championships in 1972 and 1977. Steiner was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1977 (shared with Helena Takalo and Hilkka Kuntola). As of 2012 he resides in the Swedish rural town of Falun, working as a gardener.

Steiner is the subject of the 1974 Werner Herzog German-language documentary film The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner, a.k.a. The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner (in German, Die Große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner). A lot of the footage shows Steiner and his psychological struggle at a competition at Planica where Herzog also appears as commentator.