Karl Martitsch

By the age of 19, Austrian skier Karl Martitsch was already the junior slalom champion of his native country and, one year later, he was runner up in the combined downhill and jumping events at the national junior championship. Although his career was interrupted by World War II, he returned in full force after the conflict and emerged as the Nordic Champion of Austria in 1946, as well as the Universities, 3-Way Combined, and 4-Way Combined champion.

A competitor in downhill, slalom, cross-country and ski jumping, by the time his career ended in 1950 he had won over 350 prizes and medals at the national and international level, including a bronze medal in ski jumping at the 1947 Universities World Championships. He also competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics, where he placed 21st in the Nordic combined and 64th in the 18km cross-country skiing event. One of his final appearances came at the 1950 World Championship in the Nordic combined, although he did not win a medal.

A year later, Martitsch settled in Canada and embarked upon a career as a civil engineer at the Foundation Co. of Canada Ltd. While working on projects such as strip malls and steel plants, he also helped construct more comfortable landings for ski jumps during the 1960s and Canada’s first 70m jump in Ontario, quickly becoming active in the Canadian Ski Association.

By 1963 he was Canada’s representative to the International Ski Federation and was later certified as a judge in ski jumping, officiating at numerous international events. He was a major part of facilities construction in two editions of the Winter Olympics: 1980 in Lake Placid and 1988 in Calgary. He remained active in the field until shortly before his death from a heart attack in 2000, at the age of 82.