Andreas FELDER

Tyrolian-born Andreas Felder first competed in the ski jumping World Cup at the age of 18 in January 1980 during the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck. At the World Junior Ski Championships he took bronze in the same year. It was one year later when he scored his first World Cup points, placing 13th in January 1981 in Bischofshofen, again during the Four Hills Tournament, and about one month later he celebrated his first podium finish with second place in ski-flying at Ironwood, Michigan (USA). But he had to wait 3½ years for his first World Cup victory which occurred in December 1984 on the normal hill in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He also won the next three World Cup events within eight days. At that time Felder had already won a silver medal with the Austrian team (with Hans Wallner, Hubert Neuper, and Armin Kogler) at the 1982 World Championships held in Oslo.

In the 1984-85 World Cup Felder finished second to Matti Nykänen and won two silver medals at the 1985 Nordic World Ski Championships held on home soil in Seefeld (Tyrol), once again with the Austrian team (with Armin Kogler, Günther Stranner, and Ernst Vettori) and one in the individual jumping on the normal hill held on the Toni-Seelos-Olympiaschanze. The following years Felder finished third twice in the World Cup (1985-86 and 1986-87), became world champion at the 1986 Ski-Flying World Championships held in the Austrian Bad Mitterndorf, where he also equaled the standing world record at that time with a 191-metre flight on his last jump, and won gold on the large hill as well as bronze with the Austrian team (with Ernst Vettori and the non-Olympians Richard Schallert and Franz Neuländtner) at the 1987 Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf.

In March 1987 Felder won the Holmenkollen ski jumping, but the technique of his sport changed during the end of the 1980s. The classical or parallel style (Däscher technique) which was used in former years was no longer competitive and Felder had to learn the new V-technique. After three years without a World Cup win Felder won again in March 1990 at Örnsköldsvik (SWE) and again placed third in the World Cup (1989-90). The following season (1990-91) he won the World Cup, achieved his best overall result at the Four Hills Tournament with a second place, and won a team gold (with Ernst Vettori, Heinz Kuttin, and Stefan Horngacher) at the 1991 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme. He again placed third in his last World Cup season (1991-92) and won a team silver at his third Winter Olympics. Shortly after the Games Felder retired, but not without winning his last ever World Cup competition on the large hill in Planica. In total he won 25 World Cup events – a mark which was only topped by Matti Nykänen (46 wins) at that time.

After his career Felder worked as coach. Among others he was head coach of the Austrian ski jumping team (1995-97), head coach of the German Nordic combined team (1997-2000), and ski jumping coach of the Austrian Nordic combined team, before coaching Austrian youth ski jumpers. Felder was Austrian sportsman of the year in 1987.