Josef Feistmantl (born February 23, 1939) was an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n luge

Luge

A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...

r who competed from the mid 1950s to the early 1970s.

He was born in Absam

Absam

Absam is a municipality in the Innsbruck-Land District, Tyrol situated at an altitude of 632 m, has an area of 52 km² and 6700 inhabitants as January 2011.-Geography:...

.

Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at the 1964 Winter Olympics

1964 Winter Olympics

The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...

 in Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

.

Feistmantl also won five medals in the men's singles event at the FIL World Luge Championships with one gold (1969

FIL World Luge Championships 1969

The FIL World Luge Championships 1969 took place in Königssee, West Germany. It marked the first time the event took place on a permanent, artificially refrigerated track in bobsleigh, luge, and/ or skeleton.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:...

), two silvers (1959

FIL World Luge Championships 1959

The FIL World Luge Championships 1959 took place in Villard-de-Lans, France. The men's doubles event was cancelled to poor weather conditions. , it is the only time an event has been entirely cancelled in the history of the World Championships, European Championships, or Winter Olympics.-Men's...

, 1970

FIL World Luge Championships 1970

The FIL World Luge Championships 1970 took place in Königssee, West Germany. It is the only time that the championships have been held in the same location in consecutive years.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Medal table:...

), and two bronzes (1967

FIL World Luge Championships 1967

The FIL World Luge Championships 1967 took place in Hammarstrand, Sweden. This event was held following the cancellation of the previous year's championships in Friedrichroda, East Germany, which was the last cancellation in the history of the world championships.-Men's singles:-Women's...

, 1971

FIL World Luge Championships 1971

-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Medal table:-References:***...

). He also won three medals in the men's doubles event at the FIL European Luge Championships with one gold (1967

FIL European Luge Championships 1967

The FIL European Luge Championships 1967 took place in Königssee, West Germany. It was the first time the championships were held after being cancelled from 1963 to 1966.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Medal table:-References:...

) and two silvers (1954

FIL European Luge Championships 1954

The FIL European Luge Championships 1954 took place in Davos, Switzerland under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing under their "Section de Luge", a trend that would continue until the International Luge Federation was formed in 1957...

, 1962

FIL European Luge Championships 1962

The FIL European Luge Championships 1962 took place in Weissenbach, Austria. It marked the first time event was held under the auspices of the International Luge Federation which was formed in 1957...

).

At the opening ceremonies of the 1976 Winter Olympics

1976 Winter Olympics

The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...

, Feistmantl and fellow Austrian alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 Christl Haas

Christl Haas

Christl Haas was an Austrian alpine skiing champion at the 1964 Winter Olympics.Haas was born in at Kitzbühel. In the World Cup she won four downhill competitions in total...

 were lighters of separate Olympic Flame

Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...

s as defined by Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

's hosting of their second Winter Olympics.

Feistmantl was inducted into the International Luge Federation Hall of Fame in 2005 along with Hans Rinn

Hans Rinn

Hans Rinn is an East German former luger who competed from the early 1970s to the early 1980s...

.