Austrian ski great Toni Sailer, a triple Olympic champion in 1956, has died aged 73 after a long illness.

Sailer won all three Alpine ski events at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

He won the downhill, slalom and giant slalom events and became known as the "black lightning bolt from Kitz," a reference to his Alpine hometown of Kitzbuehel and his black attire.

After retiring from competitive skiing, he starred in films and became a 'schlager' or 'crooner' singer of traditional Austrian music.