Karl Schnabl

In 1976 Karl Schnabl became the first Austrian to win an Olympic gold medal in ski jumping, on the large hill in Innsbruck. He also won a bronze at the 1976 Winter Olympics on the normal hill. Schnabl came to Innsbruck among the favorites, after placing third at the 1975 Ski Flying World Championships and finishing third in the Four Hills Tournament, winning two of the four events. In 1976 he was second in the Four Hills Tournament and won that year at Holmenkollen. Schnabl was world-ranked #1 in both 1975 and 1976. He was Austrian Champion on the normal hill from 1975-77. After those dominant seasons, Schnabl’s career went into decline and he focused on his medical career.

Schnabl studied medicine in Innsbruck and earned his medical degree in 1984. He became a sports medicine physician, practicing first in Villach and then opening his own sports medicine practice in Innsbruck in 1989. In 1994 he became head of the Sports Medicine Institute in Carinthia.