Name Putzi Frandl | Role Olympic athlete | |
Olympic medals Alpine Skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics - Women's Giant Slalom | ||
Josefine "Putzi" Frandl (later Crotty, born July 5, 1930) is an Austrian former alpine ski racer. She was among the world's best ski racers in the mid-1950s. She competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics, the 1958 Alpine World Ski Championships and the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Contents
She was born in Radstadt, Austria.
Major Competitions History
In 1956 Winter Olympics she won the silver medal in the giant slalom event. In the slalom competition she finished fifth and had a 13th-place finish in the downhill contest.
Four years later, at the Squaw Valley, California Winter Olympics, she finished 16th in the 1960 slalom event, 21st in the giant slalom competition, and 39th in the downhill contest.
Frandl was disappointed with these results. She explained that she had been on the top of her form in the events leading up to the Olympics and expected to place well. There was very little snow in the Sierras until just before the Olympics. Finally the area received a good snowfall, just in time to keep the events from being cancelled or postponed.
Frandl and some of her friends and teammates went out to ski the fresh powder snow. Unfortunately, while coming down one run, the tip of one of Frandl's skis went under a log hidden just under the newly fallen snow. Her shin hit the log hard, scraping it and straining her leg. Frandl believed that the injury possibly prevented her from winning another Olympic Medal.
Frandl had excellent results at the 1958 World Championships, with a Silver in Slalom and Bronze in the Combined.
Personal life
After retiring Frandl worked as a ski instructor in Austria. In one of her classes she met US Air Force officer Patrick Crotty. They eventually married and had three children, Monica, Patrick Jr. and Joseph.
Patrick's career took Putzi and their family to many places, and whenever there was a ski resort close enough Putzi would teach skiing. Among the places she taught were Mad River Mountain and Copper Mountain. She worked at Copper during the 2008-2009 season but decided to concentrate on her "second love", tennis in 2009-2010. She lives in Centennial, Colorado.