Harald Paumgarten

Harald Paumgarten emigrated to the United States and founded a skiing school in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. He lived there at the time of the 1932 Winter Olympics, when he was the flagbearer of the Austrian team at the opening ceremony. At the 1933 World Championship, he was a member of the Austrian team that won the bronze medal in the 4x10 km relay.

Paumgarten was also an excellent Alpine skier, and at the 1931 Alpine World Championship he finished third in the unofficial “long downhill” event. During a visit to his native country he was killed by an avalanche near St. Anton am Arlberg at the age of 48. He was the grandfather of Doug Burden, who represented the US rowing team at three Olympics 1988 – 1996.

His brother Fridtjof competed in Nordic combined and was selected for the 1928 Winter Olympics, but broke his leg while training the ski jump and could not start. His sister Gerda, later Countess Paumgarten-Hohenschwangau, was an Alpine skier and was slalom World Champion in 1936. She was not eligible for the 1936 Winter Olympics because she worked as a skiing instructor and considered professional.