Franz Stampfl

Franz Stampfl MBE (born Vienna 18 November, 1913 - died 19 March, 1995 Melbourne) was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the twentieth century. He pioneered a scientific system of Interval Training which became very popular with sprint and middle distance athletes.

Early life

Stampfl was born in Austria and had some success as a skier and javelin thrower. He fled his country in late 1936 and moved to Great Britain where he began coaching of track and field athletes, in part due to assistance by Olympic legend Harold Abrahams.

During World War II he was regarded as an enemy alien in England and was transported to Canada and then Australia. He returned to Britain after the war and continued athletics coaching. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/sportsfactor/stories/2000/156849.htm Sports Factor - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ] ]

The Four-Minute Mile

Stampfl's coaching assisted Roger Bannister to the world's first Four-minute mile on 6 May, 1954. Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher who played key roles in pacing Bannister to the record were also coached by Stampfl. [ [http://www.annadalestriders.co.uk/Interviews/Roger%20Bannister/RBInterview.htm Interview with Roger Bannister] ]

His book "Franz Stampfl on Running", first published in 1955, was a great success and rated by The Times as an "admirable and enthralling text-book on training and tactics". [ [http://www.antikvariat.net/LOP20086.cgi - Book description - 'Franz Stampfl on Running'] ]

Australian Successes

In 1955, Stampfl was invited to Australia to take a coaching position at Melbourne University and he settled in Melbourne until his death. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950406/ai_n13975717 Obituary by Chris Chataway (The Independent)] ]

At the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Stampfl coached 11 of the athletes in the Australian team. [ [http://www.abaf.org.au/giving/acf/projects/sallymclean.html 'Franz's squad'] ]

He trained many successful Australian athletes during his lifetime; most notably:

*Ralph Doubell - 1968 Olympic Gold Medal 800 metres - World Record
*Gael Martin - 1984 Olympic Bronze Medal Shot Putt

Other Stampfl athletes included Olympic finalists Tony Sneazwell, Alan Crawley and Merv Lincoln, in addition to Commonwealth champions Peter Bourke, Sue Howland and Judy Peckham [ [http://www.sahof.org.au/hallOfFame/memberProfile/index.php?memberID=315&memberType=legends Sports Australia Hall Of Fame - profile] ] .

Interval Training

Stampfl was a great proponent of the interval style of training where athletes run high-intensity distance trials followed by short recovery periods. An example could be 12 repetitions of 400 metres with a 200 metre jog between each.

Stampfl had a great rivalry with Percy Cerutty who coached the legendary middle-distance champion Herb Elliott. Stampfl's coaching was regarded as 'scientific' whereas Cerutty's techniques were considered more 'natural', based on 'Stotan' (a mixture of Stoic and Spartan) philosophies [ [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130438b.htm - Australian Dictionary of Biography online - Percy Cerutty] ] . As such, they - and their athletes - were seen as obvious rivals.

Quadriplegia

Stampfl was involved in a car accident in 1980 which left him a quadriplegic. Despite this, he continued to coach.

In 1981 he was awarded an MBE for services to athletics.

References