The Finn and Star boat sailor took part in the Olympic Games a total of ten times between 1960 and 1969. Until 2012, the Austrian was the only athlete in the world to achieve this level of consistency at such a high level. Officially, the most famous sailor from the Alpine republic is listed with nine active participations, as he was a substitute on his debut in 1960. The absolute record is held by Canadian show jumper Ian Millar.
The Salzburg native won two medals: in 1968 in Mexico in the Finn dinghy and in 1980 in Moscow together with his long-time co-skipper Karl Ferstl in the Star boat. Raudaschl also won gold in the Finn Dinghy in 1964 and in the Minitonner in 1978, as well as second place in the Contender in 1970 and in the Half-Tonner in 1972. He also won five European titles and 22 national titles.
Raudaschl sewed his own sails at the age of 16
Hubert Raudaschl knew early on how to combine his professional and sailing careers. The son of a boat builder, born on 26 August 1942 in St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang, came into contact with sailing at an early age. He learnt boatbuilding and sailmaking from an early age. Raudaschl also spent some time travelling as a ship's carpenter. He made his first sails at the age of 16 and set up his own sailmaking business at an early age. This was taken over by his son Florian in 2004, who in turn took part in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in a Finn dinghy. Today, his sailmaking business operates under the name Doyle Raudaschl.
The President of the Austrian Sailing Association Dieter Schneider:"In Hubert Raudaschl, we are losing an outstanding personality in our sport. His successes and pioneering spirit are unique. He has shaped Austrian sailing like no other. His name will always be associated with the success story of Austrian sailing. Our thoughts are with his family and all those who were close to him."
Late joys with the sailing tiller
However, the name Hubert Raudaschl does not only stand for sailing excellence between start and finish. As a long-standing partner of the Austrian Schöchl shipyard, the sailmaker was also closely associated with cruising sailing and often took part in the YACHT tests of new models from Mattsee, a tradition that his son Florian is continuing.
Finally, the great Austrian sailor created the so-called Zille RW 6 based on the Zille, the working and fishing boats from the lakes of the Salzkammergut (read the test here). The Salzburg native remained committed to the life-defining sport of sailing even after his active career. His son Florian: "Hubert sailed on his home waters, the beautiful Wolfgangsee, until the very end."
