girl for everything
He often acted overprotective. “We always had to wear long underwear. Until I noticed in the World Cup that others only wear them at -10 degrees,” laughs the Filius. “I was a cook, waxer, taxi driver, girl for everything,” his dad remembers of the early days. Above all, he was the “lead animal,” says Walter Hörl, who was at Eder’s side for many years as a roommate and trainer. “Fred was always determined and a stubborn dog. I see that as a strength, he always went his own way.” This led him back to the ÖSV, with whom he had to experience the doping scandal in Turin in 2006. “The worst case scenario,” says Eder retrospectively. He was branded, accused and, like 13 others, banned from the Olympics by the ÖOC. It wasn’t until two years later that he was officially rehabilitated. “That was eating away at me.”
Alfred Eder – pioneer, leader, idealist: A legend turns 70!
