# Richard Schabl

Richard Schabl (born 1959) is a German former freestyle skier, specializing in acroski. He won the gold medal at the first FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in 1986 and the FIS Junior World Championship 1980 in Chamonix and ended his competitive sports career right after when he became the World Champion at the age of 26. Schabl achieved a total of 12 victories in the World Cup and won the ski ballet Crystal Globe in 1983 and 1984 seasons. He invented the one-handed pole flip and owns a unique world record 22 flips in 60 seconds on a ski deck (a revolving carpet). He is also a two-time European Champion in ski ballet, winning the title in 1981 and 1984.
Upon his retirement, Schabl began working on ski films as a producer and actor, and later worked as a photographer for various magazines, including Playboy and Maxim. His feature film project about the Kaprun disaster, Smoke in the Tunnel, has been in production for more than 10 years and scheduled to be released on the 25th anniversary of the catastrophe, 11 November 2025.

## Freestyle skiing results
### World Championships

* 1 medal – (1 gold)
| Year | Age | Ski ballet |
| 1986 Tignes | 26 | 1 |

### World Cup
#### Season titles

* 2 titles – (2 ski ballet)
| Season |
| Season | Discipline |
| 1983 | Ski ballet |
| 1984 | Ski ballet |

#### Season standings

| Season | Age | Overall | Ski ballet |
| 1980 | 20 | 48 | 19 |
| 1981 | 21 | 18 | 3 |
| 1982 | 22 | 26 | 4 |
| 1983 | 23 | 16 | 1 |
| 1984 | 24 | 13 | 1 |
| 1984–85 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
| 1985–86 | 26 | 28 | 8 |

#### Race podiums

* 12 victories
* 28 podiums
| No. | Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place |
| 1 | 1981 | 14 February 1981 | Oberjoch, West Germany | Ski ballet | 3rd |
| 2 | 1981 | 15 March 1981 | Poconos, USA | Ski ballet | 3rd |
| 3 | 1981 | 21 March 1981 | Calgary, Canada | Ski ballet | 3rd |
| 4 | 1982 | 3 January 1982 | Snoqualmie, USA | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 5 | 1982 | 9 January 1982 | Blackcomb, Canada | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 6 | 1983 | 3 January 1983 | Mariazell, Austria | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 7 | 1983 | 20 January 1983 | Tignes, France | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 8 | 1983 | 29 January 1983 | Oberjoch, West Germany | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 9 | 1983 | 2 February 1983 | Livigno, Italy | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 10 | 1983 | 12 February 1983 | Ravascletto, Italy | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 11 | 1983 | 11 March 1983 | Squaw Valley, USA | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 12 | 1983 | 17 March 1983 | Angel Fire, USA | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 13 | 1984 | 14 January 1984 | Stoneham, Canada | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 14 | 1984 | 20 January 1984 | Breckenridge, USA | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 15 | 1984 | 3 February 1984 | Courchevel, France | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 16 | 1984 | 25 February 1984 | Göstling, Austria | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 17 | 1984 | 28 February 1984 | Ravascletto, Italy | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 18 | 1984 | 3 March 1984 | Oberjoch, West Germany | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 19 | 1984 | 20 March 1984 | Sälen, Sweden | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 20 | 1984 | 27 March 1984 | Tignes, France | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 21 | 1984–85 | 11 December 1984 | Mont Gabriel, Canada | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 22 | 1984–85 | 12 January 1985 | Lake Placid, USA | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 23 | 1984–85 | 19 January 1985 | Breckenridge, USA | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 24 | 1984–85 | 1 February 1985 | La Sauze, France | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 25 | 1984–85 | 20 February 1985 | Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 26 | 1984–85 | 9 March 1985 | Mariazell, Austria | Ski ballet | 1st |
| 27 | 1984–85 | 17 March 1985 | La Clusaz, France | Ski ballet | 2nd |
| 28 | 1985–86 | 17 December 1985 | Zermatt, Switzerland | Ski ballet | 1st |