Quick Facts
Biography
Franz Heinzer (born April 11, 1962 in Rickenbach, Schwyz, Switzerland) is a former alpine ski racer, who specialized in downhill. He was World Cup champion in downhill three consecutive seasons (1991, 1992, 1993), second only to Franz Klammer (4 consecutive). He won a total of 15 World Cup downhill races, fourth behind Klammer (25), Peter Müller (19) and Stephan Eberharter (18). Together with Franz Klammer, Toni Sailer, Jean Claude Killy, Karl Schranz and Stephan Eberharter, he is considered among the best downhill racers of all time. He also won the season title in Super-G in 1991.
Heinzer won at the world's most famous downhill venues: Kitzbühel (3x), Wengen, Val Gardena (2x), Garmisch, Val-d'Isère, Aspen, Lake Louise, and St. Anton. His victory in the downhill event at the 1991 World Championships came after three fourth places at previous championships (Schladming (1982), Bormio (1985) and Crans-Montana (1987). He didn't compete in the downhill at Vail in 1989. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, his right binding released at the starting gate, putting him out of the downhill race.
A month later, Heinzer retired from international competition at age 31 with 17 World Cup victories and 45 podiums. He now runs his own sports products company in Altdorf, and since the winter of 2004, also works as the assistant coach of Swiss national downhill team.
World Cup results
Season standings
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 18 | 36 | — | — | not run | 10 | — |
| 1982 | 19 | 26 | — | — | 10 | — | |
| 1983 | 20 | 26 | — | 19 | not awarded | 19 | 9 |
| 1984 | 21 | 6 | — | 18 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1985 | 22 | 5 | — | 36 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1986 | 23 | 13 | — | — | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| 1987 | 24 | 12 | — | — | 25 | 3 | — |
| 1988 | 25 | 8 | — | — | 16 | 3 | 13 |
| 1989 | 26 | 31 | — | — | 20 | 14 | — |
| 1990 | 27 | 17 | — | — | 21 | 7 | 21 |
| 1991 | 28 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1992 | 29 | 5 | — | — | 7 | 1 | — |
| 1993 | 30 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — |
| 1994 | 31 | 36 | — | — | 29 | 16 | — |
Season titles
4 season titles: 3 downhill, 1 super G
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Downhill |
| Super-G | |
| 1992 | Downhill |
| 1993 | Downhill |
Individual races
17 race victories: 15 downhill, 2 combined
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | December 19, 1982 | Val Gardena, Italy | Combined |
| 1984 | December 9, 1983 | Val-d'Isère, France | Downhill |
| December 10, 1983 | Combined | ||
| 1986 | February 22, 1986 | Åre, Sweden | Downhill |
| 1987 | January 4, 1987 | Laax, Switzerland | Downhill |
| 1988 | March 11, 1988 | Beaver Creek, USA | Downhill |
| 1991 | December 14, 1990 | Val Gardena, Italy | Downhill |
| January 12, 1991 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Downhill | |
| March 8, 1991 | Aspen, USA | Downhill | |
| March 16, 1991 | Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill | |
| 1992 | December 14, 1991 | Val Gardena, Italy | Downhill |
| January 17, 1992 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Downhill | |
| January 18, 1992 | Downhill | ||
| January 25, 1992 | Wengen, Switzerland | Downhill | |
| 1993 | January 10, 1993 | Garmisch, Germany | Downhill |
| January 16, 1993 | St. Anton, Austria | Downhill | |
| January 23, 1993 | Veysonnaz, Switzerland | Downhill |