Baldur Preiml is considered a pioneer of Austria’s rise to the number one ski jumping nation. He died exactly one year ago.
This season, Domen Prevc leads the Ski Jumping World Cup unchallenged – and yet the Austrians are strongly competing at the top. Jan Hörl is well in the race as fourth in the overall standings, Daniel Tschofenig follows as sixth, Stephan Embacher in eighth place, Stefan Kraft and Manuel Fettner just behind.
It’s hard to imagine that there was once a time when mainly Norwegians and Germans monopolized the victories and Austria was not yet a ski jumping nation – more precisely, the era before Baldur Preiml’s active career. The Austrian ski jumping revolutionary passed away exactly one year ago today.
Baldur Preiml at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid
As an active athlete, the Carinthian was among the world’s elite in the sixties, winning bronze in 1968 at the Olympics on the normal hill behind the Czechoslovak Jiri Raska and compatriot Reinhold Bachler.
Preiml exerted a formative influence as a coach after his retirement: Because of his innovative ideas and great meticulousness, Preiml is considered the father of Austria’s rise to the number 1 ski jumping nation.
Under Preiml, Austria Rose
Preiml meticulously worked on material (skis, airtight ski suits, equipment) and training methodology, including nutrition and mental coaching – he also closely studied the GDR, which had dominated the sport until then.
The versatile Preiml also valued education for his protégés: At his ski high school in Stams, where he temporarily taught history alongside his work as national coach, he also instructed them in history.
Preiml’s revolutionary approaches helped an entire generation of Austrian jumpers break through to the world elite, most notably Toni Innauer, the Olympic champion of Lake Placid 1980.
In 1975, Preiml also led Willi Pürstl to the first Austrian overall victory at the Four Hills Tournament in 22 years – Edi Federer and Karl Schnabl completed the triple triumph.
“He Revolutionized the Sport”
After his time as a coach, Preiml remained in demand as a speaker and activist for exercise and nutrition; Between 1987 and 1991, he also headed the sports department in the Austrian Ministry of Education. In 1996, he received the Golden Decoration of Honor of the Republic of Austria, the highest award in the country.
“With Baldur Preiml, the Austrian Ski Association loses not only an outstanding coach of his time, but the entire ski jumping family loses a decades-long friend who revolutionized this sport,” wrote the ÖSV in an obituary for Preiml.
On Monday, January 27, 2025, Baldur Preiml passed away in Spittal an der Drau at the age of 85.