Toni Seelos – a legend in skiing

One of the most illustrious figures from the Olympiaregion Seefeld was the ski legend Anton ‘Toni’ Seelos (1911 – 2006). The Austrian ski racer and ski trainer shaped the sport of alpine skiing like no other of his day. The four-time world champion replaced the standard stem turn with the parallel turn technique. As a professional ski instructor, he was not permitted to take part in the Olympic Games. He was, however, invited as a forerunner and finished six seconds faster that the gold medal winner!

In 1934, Toni Seelos became the trainer of the German ski racer Christl Cranz, helping her to an Olympic gold medal in 1936 and to a total of 12 world championship titles. In 1937, he successfully trained the French national team. Toni Seelos ran the ski school in his hometown of Seefeld until the early 1980s.