The 51 year old Franz Klammer  has obtained 4 victories on the Saslong.  The first and probably most remarkable was in 1975 when he executed a unique and outstanding performance on the slope Ronc in Ortisei, making a perfect finale for that years World Cup.  There were three athletes who were tied during that  World Cup race before the final parallel slalom in Val Gardena. Those athletes were Ingemar Stenmark, Gustav Thoeni and Franz Klammer. Since he was not classified as a slalomist, the Austrian athlete could not compete for the final victory. The year after (1976) he mananged to claim a double victory  for the downhill on Saslong.  Klammer' s ultimate success on Saslong was back in 1982 where he made his come back after his first decision to end his competitive skiing career. So far Klammer is the only athlete to have won three times in a row on Saslong (once in 1975 and twice in 1976).

The honours will presented by Erich Demetz, president of the FIS Committee for the World Cup and  honorary president of the Saslong Classic Club. "Franz Klammer is a esteemed figure in the world of skiing not only for his instinctive and unconventional style but also because of his innate ability to find the fastest manner for crossing the finish line. Klammer demonstrated that only top protagonists can win in Val Gardena when the conditions of the course are standard and identical for every individual."

The Saslong Classic Club started giving away honours three years ago:  in 2001 to Uli Spiess for being the first competitor to jump over the Camel Humps, in 2002 to Herbert Plank for being the first national athlete to win on Saslong and in 2003 to Bernhard Russi for his victory at the 1970 World Championships and also for being the winner of a downhill in  Val Gardena (1972).