FRANZ STAMPFL

Austrian coach Franz Stampfl developed his own version of the interval-training system of Germany's Woldemar Gerschler, who coached Rudolf Harbig, Gordon Pirie and Roger Moens. The main difference was that Stampfl’s training methods had his athletes do almost all their running on the track.

One of the world's leading coaches in the 1950s and 60s, Stampfl mentored Roger Bannister, Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher in England, and later by Merv Lincoln and Ralph Doubell in Australia.

Stampfl, who came to study art in England in the late 1930's, during WWII was interned and sent to Australia. After the end of hostilities he returned to Britain and worked as a professional coach especially advising university athletes. He began to train Brasher and Chataway in the early 1950s and was introduced to Bannister by Brasher in 1953. As well as helping guide Bannister to the first ever sub-4 minutes Mile in the May of the following year, Stampfl coached Chataway to a famous 5000m world record victory over Kuts in October 1954 and took Brasher to the 3000m Steeplechase gold at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

Stampfl returned in Australia after 1954 to take-up a coaching post at the University of Melbourne. His biggest successes in Australia were developing Merv Lincoln into one of the best milers of his day and guiding Ralph Doubell to the 800m gold in the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

Stampfl was involved in a car accident in 1980 which left him a quadriplegic. Despite this, he continued to coach and in 1981 he was awarded an MBE for services to athletics.

Stampfl was born in Vienna 18 November 1913 and died 19 March 1995 in Melbourne.