Walter Demel was one of the best cross-country skiers in the country in the 1960s and 1970s. © Werek/imago
Walter Demel was one of the world's best cross-country skiers for two decades. Now the winter sports legend has died at the age of 87.
Bayreuth – The winter sports world mourns the loss of Walter Demel. The former cross-country skier died in mid-April at the age of 87. In total, the Bayreuth native took part in the Winter Olympics four times, and in 1972 he carried the German flag into the stadium at the opening ceremony in Sapporo, Japan. It was at these Games that he also made his strongest Olympic appearance.
Walter Demel | |
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Discipline: | Cross-country skiing |
Association: | SC Zwiesel |
Greatest successes: | 4x participation in the Winter Olympics, 1x bronze at the 1966 World Championships, 40x German champion |
Demel made his breakthrough in winter sports at the 1966 World Championships in Oslo
For two decades, Demel was one of the strongest cross-country skiers in the world, but always remained modest. A few years ago, he said: "If there were no better ones, you just won." A slight understatement of his skill. Because Demel became German champion a total of 40 times, at the Olympic Games his best result was a fifth place over 30 and 50 km as well as seventh place over 15 km - more was not possible for the lover of the "long edges", the brutal long distances.
Demel made his breakthrough to the top of the world in Oslo in 1966 when he won bronze in the 30 km World Championships. It remained the only major medal of the individualist, who never had a coach and was still a world leader for over a decade. Why didn't he have a coach? "I did it on my own, what was he supposed to teach me?" Demel once said.
Demel gets into winter sports late in life
Demel was actually a trained roofer, but only entered the winter sports circus at the age of 22, after starting his career with the Federal Border Guard. In 1964 he received the Silver Laurel Leaf, the highest sporting award in the Federal Republic of Germany.
After his active career, he always remained loyal to his sport, acted from 1978 to 1985 as a cross-country skiing coach at the Bavarian Ski Association and from 1982 and 1987 as a cross-country skiing specialist. In his hometown of Bayreuth, Demel was also involved as a city councillor for many years. The cross-country skiing legend was elected unchallenged for the SPD five times, and in 2008 he resigned from office.
At the beginning of the year, the winter sports world also had to say goodbye to ski legend Rosi Mittermaier. While her son Felix Neureuther said goodbye emotionally on Instagram, some nice anecdotes about the idol also came to light. (msb/dpa)