Gattermann, Klaus

Klaus Gattermann is a German former alpine ski racer who competed in the 1984 Winter Olympics. Gattermann was born on January 8, 1961 and grew up in Bayerisch Eisenstein. After graduating from secondary school, he began an apprenticeship as a toolmaker and then joined the sports promotion group of the German Armed Forces. In 1978, he came second in the giant slalom at the German Junior Championships and shortly thereafter he finished 8th in the slalom and 7th in the giant slalom at the German Championships. Numerous resignations from the national team after the World Cup in 1978 prompted the coaches of the German National Team to start Gattermann in the World Cup at the age of 17. It took two years before he was able to place in the top ten in a combined ranking and another two and a half years before he was able to do the same in a downhill race. In the run-up to the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Gattermann established himself among the world elite and finished 12th as the second best German in the Olympic downhill. In the same year, he became German champion in the downhill. In December 1984, he achieved the best downhill result of his career with fourth place on the downhill at Val Gardena. His career was abruptly interrupted by a serious fall on the downhill run in Kitzbühel on January 11, 1985. He lost control of his skis on the edge of the Hausberg and rolled over several times. The race had to be interrupted for more than half an hour. Gattermann got off relatively lightly in the accident: in addition to a severe concussion, he broke his nose. Nevertheless, the fall in Kitzbühel heralded the end of Gattermann's career. After his recovery, he fought his way back into the national team and two weeks later he took part in the 1985 World Cup. With 13th place at the 1987 World Cup and 10th place at the 1989 World Cup , he also achieved some notable successes. However, there were no constant peak performances. After the 1988/1989 season, Gattermann retired from active racing and worked as a racing manager at the Straubing ski manufacturer Völkl .

Bayerisch Eisenstein, Germany

Alpine ski racer
Ski racing manager

RAD, July 2008 version. Canadian Council of Archives.

Catalogued June 2022.

1) Archival material
2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Gattermann
3) https://www.sport.de/wintersport/pe326670/klaus-gattermann/
4) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Gattermann