Leonhard Stock is 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 former skier who won a gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics

1980 Winter Olympics

The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...

 in Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

.

In Lake Placid, Stock started very low on the starting list - in heavy snow and on a track that was worn down. All the favorites were down the hill, the medals were almost handed out. The commentaters at the time was in fact already speaking about the future events.

Stock then named as another Austrian talent but with no wins, came out of nowwhere and made the most of the harsh conditions and took first place - to everybodys surprise.

Stock could not repeat his surprise win at the Lake Placid Olympics on the World Cup tour until almost a decade later, winning Downhill

Downhill

Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....

 races in 1989, 1990, an 1992. At the 1988 Winter Olympics

1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...

 in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 he just missed a second Olympic medal, coming in 4th in the downhill and 8th in the Super Giant Slalom race. He now runs a hotel http://www.olympiahotel.at/ in his birthplace in the Zillertal

Zillertal

The Zillertal is the biggest valley branching off the Inn valley in Tyrol, Austria drained by the river Ziller. It is surrounded by the strongly glaciated Zillertal Alps to the south and east, the lower grass peaks of the Kitzbühel Alps to the east and Tux Alps to the west...

.

In his many years on the circuit, it is fair to say, he never was a star - but maybe one of the best to start from at low place on the starting list - and reach top 10 on many occasions. A feat that he would repeat again and again. The old saying: "Before Stock is down, we cannot give the crown", says it best.

World Cup victories

Date	Location	Race
January 6, 1989	Laax Laax Laax is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Laax has an area, , of . Of this area, 35.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.6% is forested...	Downhill
December 8, 1990	Val d'Isère Val d'Isère Val d'Isère is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in south-eastern France. It lies from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise National Park created in 1963. The Face de Bellevarde was the scene of the men's downhill race as part of the 1992 Winter...	Downhill
December 12, 1992	Val Gardena	Downhill

External links

• Ski-DB.com - Results - Leonhard Stock