Fritz Tschannen

• Name — Fritz Tschannen • Nationality — Switzerland • Born — 13 May 1920 • Birthplace — Saint-Imier, Switzerland • Died — 23 March 2011 • Place of death — Val-de-Travers, Switzerland • Club — SC Adelboden • Personal Best — 120 m Planica, Yugoslavia (15 March 1948)

He joined the Swiss National Team in 1945 and attended the Winter Olympic Games three years later, where he placed ninth in a field of forty-nine competitors in the men's normal hill event. The same year he became the Swiss national champion. On 15 March 1948 he set a new world record distance with a jump of 120 metres (394 ft) at Bloudkova velikanka hill in Planica, Yugoslavia.

After his experience at the Olympics, Tschannen was invited to train with the United States team, but moved to Canada when he was denied a work visa because of the ongoing Korean War. He had a career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1952–1954 as a musician and orchestrator, including a stint with his own French-language television show. He returned to his native country in 1964 and founded a musical school in the city of Bex. He worked as a conductor until 1999, when he retired to the municipality of Fleurier. He died in Val-de-Travers in March 2011.

• Date — Hill — Location — Metres — Feet • 15 March 1948 — Bloudkova velikanka K120 — Planica, Yugoslavia — 120 — 394