March 14, 2006 – At the 2006 Winter Olympic Games Fischer once again demonstrated in an impressive manner its expertise as technology leader. With the medal count reaching 72, Fischer has made it quite clear who the number one ski manufacturer is. “These have been the most successful Winter Olympics in the history of the company. Olympic medals represent a highlight in top-level sporting achievements and we’re extremely pleased at having taken 72 of them!”, says Gregor Dietachmayr, CEO at Fischer. “This is the result of the outstanding group effort, ranging from our development engineers to the employees in production. Our thanks go also to all the service specialists and the Olympic team that worked so hard and successfully both in Turin and in Ried – such commitment is not to be taken for granted.”

“Yellow” – the dominating colour on the Nordic winners’ podium

Nordic Fischer athletes representing 13 nations took 70 medals: 26 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze.

“Yellow” was the dominating colour on the winners’ podium in the Nordic events at Pragelato and San Sicario. In the women’s Relay, for example, eight of the twelve athletes could be seen with Fischer skis on the podium. In the 15 km Classical an incredible ten of the fastest eleven men led the field with skis from the Upper Austrian ski manufacturer. In the women’s individual events, Kristina Smigun (EST) dominated the field with gold in the Pursuit and gold in the 10 km Classical. In the men’s events Evgeni Dementiev (RUS) was one of the most successful athletes, taking gold in the Pursuit and silver in the subsequent 50 km Freestyle race.

First Olympic victory for Fischer Centrix boots

And there was a premiere to report: Thobias Fredriksson (SWE) celebrated the first Olympic victory for Fischer Centrix boots. Together with his team and brand colleague Björn Lind (SWE) the Swede won the Team Sprint event.

Two double Olympic winners in Biathlon

In the Biathlon there were even two double Olympic winners to celebrate: Svetlana Ishmouratova (RUS), who won a second gold medal in the Relay following her first one in the individual event, and Sven Fischer (GER). The experienced German skier was one of the keenest collectors of medals at the Games. Gold in the individual race was followed by bronze in the Pursuit and then gold once more in victory in the Relay race.

Fischer takes 11 of 16 ski jumping medals

In ski jumping the success was bigger than ever before: 11 of 16 medals in total went to Fischer athletes. On the large hill there was an amazing triple victory. The Austrian and Norwegian teams, spearheaded by individual Olympic winners Thomas Morgenstern (AUT, gold on the large hill) and Lars Bystoel (NOR, gold on the normal hill), came close to making a clean sweep of the medals.

Nordic Combined – Felix Gottwald´s brilliant balance

Felix Gottwald (AUT) was the outstanding athlete in the Nordic Combined. The Austrian left the Games with three medals packed safely in his bag. Gold in both the Team event and the Sprint, plus the silver medal in the Gundersen competition – not a bad record for the Olympics.

Rainer Schönfelder wins medals in the Slalom and the Combined

Rainer Schönfelder was still overjoyed as he started out on his journey back from the Olympic Games. According to the Austrian he could hear a pleasant “clanking” noise coming from his bag. The 28-year-old won two medals: bronze in the Combined on Tuesday 14 February and likewise bronze in the Slalom on Saturday 25 February. Schönfelder returned to his old strength in the Slalom in Sestriere. Despite two “very cautious runs in the top sections of the course” it was sufficient to take third place. Fredrik Nyberg narrowly missed out on a medal in the Giant Slalom on Monday 20 February. The Swede was lying third after the first run, but finally had to settle for fifth place.

Two medals for Hosp and Meissnitzer – and Fischer’s Soma-Tec boots

Fischer’s Soma-Tec boots have now made a real breakthrough at the Olympic Games. It may be only the third World Cup season for the boots, but the two Austrians Niki Hosp and Alexandra Meissnitzer each won a medal with the innovative boots from Fischer. Niki Hosp took silver in the Slalom on Wednesday 22 February. She then finished fourth in the Giant Slalom on Friday 24 February after starting off with a fifth place in the Combined on Saturday 18 February. Alexandra Meissnitzer clinched bronze in the Super G on Monday 20 February. Petra Haltmayr also put in a sound performance. The German racer, still suffering from the after-effects of a stubborn bout of flu, finished sixth in the Downhill (15 February) and ninth in the Super G. Chemmy Alcott’s eleventh place in the Downhill also caused quite a stir. It was not until the lower section of the course where the Briton missed out on a top ten finish.

About Fischer:

Since it was founded in 1924 the Austrian company Fischer has been known for innovation and the latest technologies. The headquarters of the world’s largest manufacturer of skis and global market leader in Nordic skiing are located in Ried im Innkreis , Austria . Fischer is a single-source supplier in the fields of Alpine and Nordic and specialises in tennis, hockey, Nordic Walking and Composite Technology. Production facilities are in Ried im Innkreis (AUT) and Mukachevo (UKR). The successful subsidiaries Löffler and FACC (both headquartered in Ried im Innkreis) also belong to the Group.