Franz Ferdinand Stampfl (1913–1995)
The last coach to prepare an Australian male athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, Franz Stampfl, is dead.
Stampfl, 87, coached Ralph Doubell to win the 100 metres in Mexico City in 1968. Doubell came from behind to beat Kenyan champion Wilson Kiprugut and equal the world record of lmin 44.3sec held by New Zealander Peter Snell.
But Stampfl's greatest feat was coaching Englishman Roger Bannister to become the first man to run the four-minute mile in 1951.
He moved to Australia in 1955, coaching at Melbourne University and helping the Victorian state team.
During his later years Stampfl continued coaching from a wheel chair after becoming a quadriplegic in a car accident in 1985.
He died at his home in Melbourne on Sunday and is survived by his son Anton.
Original publication
Additional Resources
- Trove search
- internee - service and casualty file, MP1103/1, item E40712 (National Archives of Australia)
- report on internee, MP1103/2, item E40712 (National Archives of Australia)
- World War II service file, B884, item V377434 (National Archives of Australia)
- application for naturalisation, A446, item 1956/57146 (National Archives of Australia)
- Stampfl wants to return to Australia, Sporting Globe (Melbourne), 15 February 1947, p 4, edition
- Stampfl to coach our runners, Argus (Melbourne), 13 July 1955, p 24
- writes a column for the Argus, Argus (Melbourne), 8 October 1955, p 1
- his plan for the Olympics, Argus (Melbourne), 3 December 1955, p 11
- advice to prospective female athletes, Argus (Melbourne), 28 July 1956, p 20
- becomes an Australian citizen, Argus (Melbourne), 13 November 1956, p 4
- seriously injured in a car crash, Canberra Times, 19 November 1980, p 38
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Stampfl, Franz Ferdinand
- Cerutty, Percy Wells (rival)
- Landy, John Michael (coached)
Citation details
'Stampfl, Franz Ferdinand (1913–1995)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/stampfl-franz-ferdinand-21316/text32247, accessed 9 September 2024.
Life Summary [details]
Birth
18 November,
1913
Vienna,
Austria
Death
19 March,
1995
(aged 81)
Hawthorn, Melbourne,
Victoria,
Australia
Cause of Death
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Religious Influence
Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.
Passenger Ship
Occupation
Military Service
Awards
- Member of the Order of the British Empire
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame
- Athletics Australia Hall of Fame