Despite its relatively small population, Austria has produced many great athletes in several sports including skiing, Formula One, mountaineering and tennis. Below is a list of Austrian athletes, organized by sport.
Siegfried "Fritz" Flesch
Albert Bogen (Albert Bógathy) (1882–1961), saber fencer, Olympic silver
Siegfried "Fritz" Flesch (1872–1939), sabre fencer, Olympic bronze
Dr. Otto Herschmann (1877–1942), saber fencer, Olympic silver; 100-m freestyle in swimming, Olympic silver
Ellen Preis (1912–2007), foil fencer, 3-time world champion (1947, 1949, and 1950), Olympic champion, 17-time Austrian champion
Alexander Wurz at the 2007 British Grand Prix
Niki Lauda in 1976
Austria has produced two Formula One champions, Jochen Rindt and Niki Lauda . The following is a list of drivers.
Gerhard Berger (1959–)
Harald Ertl (1948–1982), Died in 1982 due to an aircraft accident
Patrick Friesacher (1980–), Drove for Minardi in 2005, scoring three points in the infamous 2005 United States Grand Prix
Christian Klien (1983–), Drove for Red Bull Racing and HRT in F1.
Niki Lauda (1949–2019), three time Formula one world champion
Roland Ratzenberger (1960–1994), died in 1994 due to race related accident
Jochen Rindt (1942–1970), Formula one world champion, died in 1970 due to race related accident
Karl Wendlinger (1968–), currently driving in the FIA GT Championship
Alexander Wurz (1974–), currently driving for Honda (as a test driver)
The Bundesliga is Austria's professional football league. Among its better-known clubs are Red Bull Salzburg , Rapid Wien and Sturm Graz . Below is a list of football players from Austria.
André Burakovsky
Below is a partial list of hockey people from Austria.
On 5 of the 14 Eight-thousanders , Austrians have made the first ascent, more than any other nation. Below is a partial list of mountaineers from Austria.
Karl Blodig , first to climb all alpine mountains above 4000m
Hermann Buhl , first ascent of Nanga Parbat (1953), first ascent of Broad Peak (1957)
Kurt Diemberger , first ascents of Broad Peak (1957) and Dhaulagiri (1960)
Peter Habeler , first ascent of Mount Everest without oxygen (together with Reinhold Messner )
Heinrich Harrer , first ascent of the Carstensz Pyramid
Fritz Moravec , first ascent of Gasherbrum II together with Josef Larch and Hans Willenpart
Ludwig Purtscheller , first ascent of Kilimanjaro (1889)
Marcus Schmuck , first ascent of Broad Peak (1957), initiator and leader of the OEAV Karakoram Expedition
Herbert Tichy , first ascent of Cho Oyu
Fritz Wintersteller , first ascent of Broad Peak (1957)
Renate Götschl in 2006.
Austria has been the birthplace of many great skiers and is 5th in the all-time Winter Olympics medal count. It has won more alpine skiing world cups than any other nation (both individually and nationally). Below is a list of famous skiers from Austria.
Armin Assinger (1964–)
Dieter Bartsch (1948–), coach
Michaela Dorfmeister (1973–), Olympic champion
Christoph Ebenbichler (1983–)
Stephan Eberharter (1969–), Olympic champion
Anna Fenninger (1969–), Olympic champion
Andreas Goldberger (1972–), ski jumper
Renate Götschl (1975–)
Christl Haas (1943–2001)
Hansi Hinterseer (1954–)
Marcel Hirscher (1989–)
Franz Klammer (1953–)
Hermann Maier (1972–), Olympic champion
Ulrike Maier , Olympic ski champion (1967–1994)
Annemarie Moser-Pröll (1953–), Olympic champion
Patrick Ortlieb (1967–), Olympic champion
Benjamin Raich (1978–), Olympic champion
Toni Sailer (1935–2009), Won all three gold medals, earning himself the Triple Crown of Alpine Skiing
Karl Schnabl (1954–), ski jumper
Karl Schranz (1938–)
Thomas Stangassinger (1965–), Olympic champion
Hubert Strolz (1962–), Olympic champion
Ernst Vettori (1964–), ski jumper
Anita Wachter (1967–), Olympic champion
Felix Gottwald (1976–), Olympic champion
Paul Neumann
Margarete "Grete" Adler , Olympic bronze (4x100-meter freestyle relay)
Hedy Bienenfeld (1907–1976), Austrian-American Olympic swimmer
Alfred Guth (1908–1996), Austrian-born American water polo player, swimmer, and Olympic modern pentathlete
Judith Haspel (born "Judith Deutsch"), held every Austrian women's middle and long distance freestyle record in 1935[ 1]
Otto Herschmann , Olympic silver (100-m freestyle)
Mirna Jukić , swimmer
Ruth Langer (1921–1999), Austrian swimmer
Fritzi Löwy (1910–1994), Olympic swimmer
Klara Milch , Olympic bronze (4x100-m freestyle relay)
Paul Neumann , Olympic champion (500-m freestyle)
Maxim Podoprigora , Olympic swimmer
Shoshana Ribner , Israeli Olympic swimmer
Markus Rogan , swimmer
Otto Scheff (born "Otto Sochaczewsky"), Olympic champion (400-m freestyle) and 2x bronze (400-m freestyle, 1,500-m freestyle)
Josephine Sticker , Olympic bronze (4x100-m freestyle relay)
Otto Wahle , 2x Olympic silver (1,000-m freestyle, 200-m obstacle race) and bronze (400-m freestyle); International Swimming Hall of Fame
Richard Bergmann
In recent years Austria's presence on the international tennis scene has grown significantly. The national teams on the Davis and Federation cups have achieved improved rankings. Austria has also produced a former world number one and French Open champion in Thomas Muster . Below is a list of prominent Austrian tennis players.
Sybille Bammer
Eva Duldig
Mickey Hirschl , wrestler, 2x Olympic bronze (heavyweight freestyle and Greco-Roman)
Fred Oberlander , wrestler; world champion (freestyle heavyweight)
Other notables in sport [ edit ]
Georg Totschnig
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Edin Ibrahimovic , volleyball player
Kate Allen , triathlete (Olympic champion 2004)
Toni Fritsch , NFL football player, Super Bowl VI champion
Stephanie Graf , runner (not related to German tennis player Steffi Graf )
Alfred Guth (1908–1996), Austrian-born American water polo player, swimmer, and Olympic modern pentathlete
Walter Hahn , professional wrestler
Claudia Heill , judoka
Mickey Hirschl , wrestler, 2x Olympic bronze (heavyweight freestyle and Greco-Roman), shot put and discus junior champion, weightlifting junior champion, and pentathlon champion
Alfred König (1913–1987), Austrian-Turkish Olympic sprinter
Sylven Landesberg (born 1990), American-Israeli-Austrian basketball player
Manfred Magnus (born 1939), motorcycle racer
Jasmin Ouschan , pool-billiards player
Rowby-John Rodriguez , darts player
Nicole Trimmel , kickboxer
Arnold Schwarzenegger , body builder
Peter Seisenbacher , judoka (Olympic champion 1984 and 1988)
Christoph Sieber , surfer (Olympic champion 2000)
Mensur Suljović , darts player
Elisabeth Theurer , horse rider
Georg Totschnig , cyclist
Christine Wolf , golfer
Stefan Kraft , ski jumper (world record holder)
Gregor Schlierenzauer , ski jumper