Vienna  - Toni Sailer, the athlete who helped shape Austria's image as a skiing nation, died at the age of 73, his skiing club in Kitzbuehel announced Tuesday.

The Tyrolean skiing icon passed away Monday after a long illness, Austrian press agency APA quoted the club as saying.

Sailer was the most successful athlete in the history of alpine skiing world championships, winning seven gold and one silver medals in 1956 and 1958.

After ending his short sports career in the late 1950s, Sailer went on to become a successful film actor and singer, with fans as far as Japan. In later years, he was active in managing ski races in his home Kitzbuehel. (dpa)