With no world records set at the 1972 event, the organisers in Oberstdorf got to work by upgrading their hill to a K-point of for the 1973 Ski Flying World Championships. Janez Gorišek was brought in to oversee the project following Heini Klopfer's death in 1968. With the gauntlet laid down, the results were showcased immediately when Heinz Wossipiwo set a world record of in Oberstdorf. Determined to claim the world record for himself, Walter Steiner – the reigning Ski Flying World Champion – jumped and but crashed heavily on both attempts, sustaining a concussion and a fractured rib. He would finish the event with a silver medal, behind winner Hans-Georg Aschenbach.