Walter Schuster won the Austrian Junior Championship in downhill in 1948 and in slalom and combined in 1949. He was considered a favorite for medals at the 1950 World Championships but broke his femur shortly before the event and was out of racing for over a year. In the 1952-53 season Schuster won 11 major races, and he continued to win in the early 1953-54 season. Again looking towards the World Championships, he missed the event with a broken rib, but he returned with several victories in 1954-55, and finally was able to compete at a major international at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina. There he won a bronze medal in the giant slalom, finishing behind his countrymen, Toni Sailer and Anderl Molterer, as Austria swept the medals. Schuster retired after the 1956-57 and became a ski instructor.
Austria