RIP: Willi Krause, 98

[gh]

A downer day for gh, as his mentor has passed into the great beyond.

Not a name that all but a few on this forum would recognize, but the man had serious coaching chops, with three different pupils from two different countries making it to the Olympics, so allow me to bore you.

Erika Fisch, 4th in the '56 Olympic LJ for Germany (and a 5-time world ranker in the 80 Hurdles).

Diane Gerace, 5th in the '64 HJ for Canada (and 15th in the pentathlon). (She's also the mother of former Laker Rick Fox.)

Gerry Moro, 10th in the '64 PV for Canada (and 16th in the decathlon). He was Oregon's first 16-foot vaulter.

Also coached the first-ever NCAA indoor PV winner, Bob Yard of Washington State, among others.

Guy was a technical genius, and had little interest in "natural talent"; never saw a sprinter he didn't try to turn into a hurdler or a jumper he didn't want to be a multi-eventer.

Last saw him at the '01 World Champs; sad I never had the chance again.

[rasb]

RIP, Willi.
Great coach, great guy.

[Per Andersen]

I met him a few times in the mid 80s at meets in the Vancouver area when he came down from Trail with a group of young athletes.

It was a delight to stand next to him at meets and hear him lecture about all kinds of technical aspects.

[26mi235]

Well, gh, you are known by the company that you keep. It sounds like he was on the plus side of your ledger.

[Kevin Richardson]

Garry, the majority of us on this site are always eager for this kind of story, which is hardly boring. Thanks for the insight for those of us who never had the privelege of meeing him.

K

[dj]

I met Willi Krause once, at an outdoor lunch in Edmonton, 2001.

What impressed me most was how much he still cared about people he'd coached 30 and 40 years earlier. He had an amazing memory for what they'd accomplished, but still more for whom they'd become.

He was a remarkable person, and it was easy to see what his athletes loved in him.

[mojo]

Sad news indeed but what a life ! My husband has known Wili for over 40 years.

I met him a few times and was always envious that he had been to every Olympics and WC . He was a great coach and a great fan of the sport.

[gh]

Willi would have loved to go to "all" the Olympics but no such luck.

Was at '36, then not again until '64.

I gave him a set of tickets for '92; think that was his last one.

In '93 I was with some friends on a train from the burbs of Stuttgart (Unter Turkheim as I recall) back into the city a few days before the Worlds, and the train stopped at a station near the stadium. Looked out, and there was a rumpled old guy asleep on a bench. Just before the train pulled out I realized it was Willi, so bid my friends adieu and jumped off the train. I didn't even know he was in town.

[mojo]

Well I didn't mean he had been to every Olympics ever held. I last saw in around 1990 so I guess I should have been careful to mention up until 1990. :roll: I know he rattled off to me all the games etc. he had been to . At that point I had never been to a big meet so I was very impressed.

[tandfman]

Thank you, gh, for that truly fine editorial in the March T&FN. I must confess that I didn't pay much attention to this thread when it was active. But I read every word of what you wrote in print. When I was finished, I was sorry that I had never met Willi Krauss and I appreciated your having dedicated your column to him.

[gh]

For any non-subscribers who might want to read the tribute to Willi, that column now appears in the archive of my blatherings over the last few years.

Accessible through the From The Editor button on the front page.

[rasb]

Very nice, GH !