Erding's only reason to look forward to the Olympics

Created: 01/25/2022, 13:00

By: Dieter Priglmeir

Dieter Priglmeir © private

First China, then Qatar: Erding's head of sports, Dieter Priglmeir, warms up for grumbling about sporting events and remembers better days.

Thank you Yannick Angenend!

With his Olympic nomination, the snowboarder from Lengdorf gives us Erdingers at least one reason to look forward to the Winter Games.

Otherwise, I don't know why I should be counting the days until the Olympics start in Beijing.

Corona requirements, IOC machinations and a venue that has as much to do with winter sports as Qatar has with football.

No, this is not the sports festival in the snow from before.

My first memories are from 1976, when I ran home from school to see Franz Klammer's downhill gold (after only third-best split time because of his blunder on the oxen).

Back then, Rosi Mittermaier was not known as a folklore overlay on the Ultimate Chart Show.

She was the Goldrosi (three starts, three medals) and – I'll just say that now – the inspiration for Wolfgang Ambros, who recorded “Schifoan” months later.

Ice dancing celebrated its premiere in 1976, at that time ski jumping was called “special jumping” and the long-haired Toni Innauer won silver on the large hill.

What was then like today: Four German women (three times East Germany, one time West Germany) were at the top in tobogganing.

Canada's ice hockey superstars were absent, and the Olympics were held in Innsbruck only because Denver withdrew.

The people of the Rocky Mountains had turned against it in a ballot.

"People were worried about exposing the uniqueness of the landscape to the inevitable hype of such a major event," wrote Ernst Huberty in his Olympia book.

So this topic is almost 50 years old.

But the alternative was not Beijing, but Innsbruck, where all the facilities from the 1964 games were already in place.

However: In 1976 there was no snowboard competition - the Olympic highlight of the year.