Remembering Heinz Kluetmeier: The Visionary Behind the Miracle on Ice Captured in Time at 82

Heinz Kluetmeier was once asked by a Sports Illustrated journalist to identify the most unforgettable Olympic photograph he captured.

That journalist was me.

The renowned sports photographer did not waver.

“I would have to mention the Olympic hockey shot from Lake Placid,” he remarked. “That’s the only cover we ever published without any text. It simply didn’t require it.”

This photograph appeared on the cover of SI on March 3, 1980, representing the iconic image of a defining sports moment for Americans in the 20th century — the celebration of the United States hockey team after their unexpected victory against the Soviet Union during the Lake Placid Olympics.

Kluetmeier, who hailed from Berlin but was educated in the United States, was recruited by Time Inc. in 1969 to serve as a photographer for Life and Sports Illustrated. His profession included photographing over 100 Sports Illustrated covers, featuring iconic images of Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps.

Earlier on Tuesday, he passed away at the age of 82 following complications from Parkinson’s disease and a stroke. SI’s Jon Wertheim wrote a touching obituary, noting that Kluetmeier “didn’t simply take photos, he provided them.”

“Heinz Kluetmeier was among the finest photographers of our era,” stated his former SI colleague Robert Beck in an Instagram tribute. “He was not only technically advanced compared to his contemporaries, but he also recognized that it was the emotions of the subjects he portrayed that truly distinguished his photography.

“If you have ever set up a remote camera, you owe it to Heinz. If you ever configured a camera in the pool during the Olympics (or elsewhere), you owe it to Heinz. Seeking different perspectives, you owe it to Heinz. I could keep going. He challenged you to produce great images while also valuing a robust work ethic.”

Kluetmeier was capable of photographing anything, but he was particularly passionate about the Olympics. He was a trailblazer in underwater sports photography and captured remarkable images of Phelps swimming underwater, frame by frame, during the 2008 Beijing Games.

“I have always had a keen interest in underwater photography, and the magazine has a legacy of being innovative and ahead of trends,” Kluetmeier stated in 2008. “Often what occurs is that we implement it, it gets published in the magazine, and the following year a plethora of individuals who saw it in the magazine say, ‘Let’s try that.’ The first time I received approval to put a camera underwater was in Barcelona after months of discussions. I had clandestinely placed the camera underwater the year prior at the swimming world championships.

“One of the technical committee members indicated that I could place it in the pool, and if anyone objected, they would remove it before the event. The individual who was present to assist me in retrieving it from the pool in Perth, Australia, was Mel Stewart, the then-world champion and record holder in the 200 butterfly. In his honor, I placed a camera in the pool during his race in Barcelona. We had a fish eye lens and the water was so calm during the initial lap of his race that you could read the scoreboard through the water above him. When we were inserting the camera, I recall an armed guard stating, ‘You cannot insert this camera. It could be a bomb.’ I ultimately told the pool director: I will wear a swimsuit to the pool, and if there’s an issue, I’ll jump in and retrieve it. There was no issue, and it was published in the magazine.

“Nowadays, increasingly more people want to do it, so you practically have to limit the space at the bottom of the pool. It is very prized real estate, but individuals seek stroke images and aesthetically pleasing shots.”

(Photo:  Heinz Kluetmeier  / Sports Illustrated via Getty Image)