Egon Zimmermann

Egon Zimmermann (8 February 1939 – 23 August 2019), often referred to as Egon Zimmermann II, was a World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Austria. Zimmermann won the Olympic downhill at Patscherkofel in 1964 and won several medals on the professional tour in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Early life Zimmermann was raised on a farm near Lech, Vorarlberg, with two brothers. Lech blossomed into a ski resort while he was growing up, and his family converted their farm house into a pensione. His childhood coincided with the post-World War II poverty of Austria, so not only did Zimmermann have no formal training, but his skis were often "fourth or fifth-hand." Zimmermann was heavily favored to win. However, the course at Patscherkofel was quite difficult (nicknamed the "Course of Fear"), but he still managed to win by 0.74 seconds. (Franz Klammer famously won on the same course a dozen years later in 1976.) He did not enter the slalom and did not finish the giant slalom. Despite not sweeping the alpine events as did his compatriot Toni Sailer in 1956, Zimmermann appeared on the 10 February 1964 cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in the United States.

Personal life He owned a hotel in Lech am Arlberg and suffered from multiple sclerosis. Zimmermann also helped create Zimmermann's ski and snowboard in 1969.

Zimmermann died on 23 August 2019 at the age of 80.