Edi Hauser

Edi Hauser joined the Swiss national cross-country skiing team in 1967, but did not attend the Winter Olympics until 1972. After coming in 14th in the 30 km and 11th in the 15 km, he teamed up with Albert Giger and Alois and Fredel Kälin to compete in the 4x10 km relay. Hauser and Sweden’s Sven-Åke Lundbäck entered the final stretch neck-and-neck in a race for the bronze medal, but Lundbäck fell just shy of the finish line, allowing Hauser and his teammates to win Switzerland’s first Olympic medal in the cross-country skiing relay.

Hauser attended two subsequent editions of the Games, but never again reached the podium and retired from active competition in 1981. He and Giger tied for first place in Switzerland’s prestigious Engadin Skimarathon in 1973 and Hauser was third overall in the unofficial 1973/1974 cross-country World Cup season. Outside of sports he served as a police officer until 2005.