Richard Schabl

Richard Schabl
Schabl performing a one-handed pole flip
Country	Germany
Born	1959 (age 64–65) West Germany
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
World Cup career
Seasons	7 – (1980–1986)
Podiums	28
Wins	12
Overall titles	0 – (11th in 1985)
Discipline titles	2 – (Ski ballet: 1983, 1984)
Medal record Freestyle skiing Representing West Germany World Championships 1986 Tignes Ski ballet

Richard Schabl (born 1959) is a German former freestyle skier, specializing in acroski. He won the gold medal at the first FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in 1986 and the FIS Junior World Championship 1980 in Chamonix and ended his competitive sports career right after when he became the World Champion at the age of 26. Schabl achieved a total of 12 victories in the World Cup and won the ski ballet Crystal Globe in 1983 and 1984 seasons. He invented the one-handed pole flip and owns a unique world record 22 flips in 60 seconds on a ski deck (a revolving carpet). He is also a two-time European Champion in ski ballet, winning the title in 1981 and 1984.

Upon his retirement, Schabl began working on ski films as a producer and actor, and later worked as a photographer for various magazines, including Playboy and Maxim. His feature film project about the Kaprun disaster, Smoke in the Tunnel, has been in production for more than 10 years and scheduled to be released on the 25th anniversary of the catastrophe, 11 November 2025.

Freestyle skiing results

World Championships

• 1 medal – (1 gold)

Year	Age	Ski ballet
1986 Tignes	26	1

World Cup

Season titles

• 2 titles – (2 ski ballet)

Season
	Discipline
1983	Ski ballet
1984	Ski ballet

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Ski ballet
1980	20	48	19
1981	21	18	3
1982	22	26	4
1983	23	16	1
1984	24	13	1
1984–85	25	11	2
1985–86	26	28	8

Race podiums

• 12 victories
• 28 podiums

No.	Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Place
1	1981	14 February 1981	Oberjoch, West Germany	Ski ballet	3rd
2		15 March 1981	Poconos, USA	Ski ballet	3rd
3		21 March 1981	Calgary, Canada	Ski ballet	3rd
4	1982	3 January 1982	Snoqualmie, USA	Ski ballet	2nd
5		9 January 1982	Blackcomb, Canada	Ski ballet	1st
6	1983	3 January 1983	Mariazell, Austria	Ski ballet	1st
7		20 January 1983	Tignes, France	Ski ballet	1st
8		29 January 1983	Oberjoch, West Germany	Ski ballet	2nd
9		2 February 1983	Livigno, Italy	Ski ballet	1st
10		12 February 1983	Ravascletto, Italy	Ski ballet	1st
11		11 March 1983	Squaw Valley, USA	Ski ballet	2nd
12		17 March 1983	Angel Fire, USA	Ski ballet	2nd
13	1984	14 January 1984	Stoneham, Canada	Ski ballet	2nd
14		20 January 1984	Breckenridge, USA	Ski ballet	1st
15		3 February 1984	Courchevel, France	Ski ballet	2nd
16		25 February 1984	Göstling, Austria	Ski ballet	2nd
17		28 February 1984	Ravascletto, Italy	Ski ballet	2nd
18		3 March 1984	Oberjoch, West Germany	Ski ballet	1st
19		20 March 1984	Sälen, Sweden	Ski ballet	1st
20		27 March 1984	Tignes, France	Ski ballet	1st
21	1984–85	11 December 1984	Mont Gabriel, Canada	Ski ballet	2nd
22		12 January 1985	Lake Placid, USA	Ski ballet	2nd
23		19 January 1985	Breckenridge, USA	Ski ballet	2nd
24		1 February 1985	La Sauze, France	Ski ballet	1st
25		20 February 1985	Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia	Ski ballet	2nd
26		9 March 1985	Mariazell, Austria	Ski ballet	1st
27		17 March 1985	La Clusaz, France	Ski ballet	2nd
28	1985–86	17 December 1985	Zermatt, Switzerland	Ski ballet	1st

References

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Schabl

External links

• Official website
• Richard Schabl at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation