Skier Johannes Strolz Won Gold At The Olympics & His Dad Won The Same Medal 34 Years Ago
Very few stories are as wholesome as a child following in a parent's footsteps (or in this case, ski tracks).
Austrian skier Johannes Strolz just bagged a gold medal in men's alpine skiing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, 34 years after his father won gold at the Olympics for the same discipline.
The win makes them the first-ever father-son duo to win the same Olympic gold medal for the same sport.
Strolz's father, Hubert Strolz, won his gold medal during the 1988 Olympic Games hosted in Calgary.
"It's really a great moment for me, and I'm so thankful that I finally can live my dream and have this gold medal in my hands like my father did in 1988 in Calgary and, yeah, just a dream come true," said Johannes Strolz after his win, according to The Guardian.
"The gold medal really means the world to me."
The younger Strolz, 29, wasn't even on the Austrian national team until around a month ago, reported ESPN, making his win that much more impressive.
He only qualified for the team because of his performance at a recent World Cup, where he had his best showing in 10 years of racing in the competition.
The Austrians are probably patting themselves on the backs for deciding to make him part of the team.
Even the head coach of the Austrian team, Andreas Puelacher, was baffled by Strolz's performance and called it a "truly an amazing story."
"We knew he was a fast skier in the downhill side, and in slalom you've seen Adelboden, it was perfect," said Puelacher. "And after the downhill [today], I can imagine he can make a medal, but gold medal it's another story."
He was half a second faster than anyone else that attempted the run, thus securing him the big gold win.
