The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Austria

This page contains a list of the greatest Austrian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 93 of which were born in Austria. This makes Austria the birth place of the 36th most number of Athletes behind Greece, and South Korea.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Austrian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Austrian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Austrian Athletes.

1. Felix Baumgartner (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 65.79, Felix Baumgartner is the most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 62 different languages on wikipedia.

Felix Baumgartner (German: [ˈfeːlɪks ˈbaʊ̯mˌɡaʁtnɐ]; born 20 April 1969) is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper. He is widely known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere on 14 October 2012 and landing in New Mexico, United States, as part of the Red Bull Stratos project. Doing so, he set world records for skydiving an estimated 39 km (24 mi), reaching an estimated top speed of 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25. He became the first person to break the sound barrier relative to the surface without vehicular power on his descent. He broke skydiving records for exit altitude, vertical freefall distance without a drogue parachute, and vertical speed without a drogue. Though he still holds the two latter records, the first was broken two years later, when on 24 October 2014, Alan Eustace jumped from 135,890 feet (41.42 km; 25.74 mi) with a drogue. Baumgartner is also renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. He spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.

2. Otto Herschmann (1877 - 1942)

With an HPI of 60.56, Otto Herschmann is the 2nd most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Dr. Otto Herschmann (4 January 1877 – 17 June 1942) was an Austrian Jewish swimmer, fencer, lawyer, and sports official. He is one of only a few athletes who have won Olympic medals in multiple sports, having received a silver medal in swimming in 1896 and a silver medal in fencing in 1912. He also worked as a lawyer, and served as president of the Austrian Olympic Committee and the Austrian Swimming Federation. Herschmann was murdered by the Nazis in 1942 during The Holocaust.

3. Herma Bauma (1915 - 2003)

With an HPI of 60.45, Herma Bauma is the 3rd most famous Austrian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Hermine "Herma" Bauma (23 January 1915 – 9 February 2003) was an Austrian athlete who competed mainly in the javelin. She also was famous for playing handball. Bauma competed for Austria at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, United Kingdom in the javelin where she won the gold medal. Bauma was born in Vienna, then part of Austria-Hungary, on 23 January 1915. She died in Vienna on 9 February 2003, at the age of 88.

4. Adolf Kainz (1903 - 1948)

With an HPI of 59.39, Adolf Kainz is the 4th most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Adolf "Adi" Kainz (5 June 1903, in Linz – 12 July 1948) was an Austrian sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1930s. He won the gold medal in the K-2 1000 m event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Kainz also won a bronze medal in the K-2 10000 m event at the 1938 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Vaxholm though he competed under Germany because they had annexed Austria earlier that year.

5. Alfons Dorfner (1911 - 1982)

With an HPI of 57.66, Alfons Dorfner is the 5th most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Alfons Dorfner (Lembach im Mühlkreis,27 January 1911 – Linz, 22 January 1982) was an Austrian canoeist who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born in Lembach im Mühlkreis. In 1936 he won the gold medal in the K-2 1000 metre competition with his partner Adolf Kainz. They also competed in the folding K-2 10000 metre event and finished fourth.

6. Eva Janko (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 56.95, Eva Janko is the 6th most famous Austrian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Eva Janko (née Egger) (born 24 January 1945) is a former javelin thrower from Austria.

7. Klaus Dibiasi (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 56.51, Klaus Dibiasi is the 7th most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Klaus Dibiasi (born 6 October 1947) is a former sports diver from Italy, who competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics for his country, starting in 1964. He dominated the platform event from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, winning three Olympic gold medals.

8. Hans Haas (1906 - 1973)

With an HPI of 56.14, Hans Haas is the 8th most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Hans Haas (17 October 1906 – 14 May 1973) was an Austrian Jewish weightlifter who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Vienna. In 1926, he became Austrian champion for the first time and in 1928 he won the gold medal in the lightweight class. Four years later at the 1932 Games he won the silver medal in the lightweight class. Dr. George Eisen of Nazareth College included Haas on his list of Jewish Olympic Medalists.

9. Josef Feistmantl (1939 - 2019)

With an HPI of 55.89, Josef Feistmantl is the 9th most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Josef Feistmantl (23 February 1939 – 10 March 2019) was an Austrian luger who competed from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. He competed at three Olympic Games.

10. Rupert Hollaus (1931 - 1954)

With an HPI of 55.42, Rupert Hollaus is the 10th most famous Austrian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Rupert Hollaus (4 September 1931 – 11 September 1954) was an Austrian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who competed for the NSU factory racing team. He is the only Austrian to win a road racing World Championship, and the first racer to do so posthumously.

People

Pantheon has 93 people classified as Austrian athletes born between 1877 and 2000. Of these 93, 72 (77.42%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Austrian athletes include Felix Baumgartner, Eva Janko, and Klaus Dibiasi. The most famous deceased Austrian athletes include Otto Herschmann, Herma Bauma, and Adolf Kainz. As of April 2024, 93 new Austrian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Felix Baumgartner, Otto Herschmann, and Herma Bauma.