Ulrike Maier

Ulrike Maier
— Alpine skier —

Maier's grave in Rauris, Austria
Disciplines Downhill, Super G,
Giant slalom, Slalom,
Combined
Club USC Rauris
Born (1967-10-22)22 October 1967
Rauris, Salzburg, Austria
Died 29 January 1994(1994-01-29) (aged 26)
Murnau, Bavaria, Germany
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
World Cup debut 9 December 1984 (age 17)
Olympics
Teams 2 - (1988, 1992)
World Championships
Teams 3 - (1989, 1991, 1993)
Medals 3 (2 gold)
World Cup
Seasons 9 - (1985–89, '91–94)
Wins 5 - (2 SG, 3 GS)
Podiums 21
Overall titles 0 - (5th in 1993)
Discipline titles 0 - (2nd in SG, 1993)
Medal record
Women’s alpine skiing
Representing  Austria
World Championships
1989 Vail Super G
1991 Saalbach Super G
1991 Saalbach Giant Slalom

Ulrike Maier (22 October 1967 – 29 January 1994) was a World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria, a two-time World Champion in Super-G.

Born in Rauris, Salzburg, where her father ran a ski school, Maier won the Super-G gold medal at the World Championships in both 1989 and 1991.[1] She also took home the giant slalom silver medal in the 1991 event. Her first of five World Cup wins came in November 1992 and she had 21 podiums 59 top ten finishes in her World Cup career.

Accident

Two weeks prior to the 1994 Winter Olympics, the women's World Cup was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in late January. The downhill on the classic Kandahar course at Garmisch Classic was held on Saturday, January 29, following an overnight snowfall. In a narrow part of the lower course less than twenty seconds from the finish, Maier's right ski caught an inside edge at 105 km/h (65 mph), possibly from a patch of soft snow, and caused a violent crash which broke her neck.[2] She died of her injuries shortly after being evacuated to the hospital in nearby Murnau.[3] At the age of 26, she had considered retirement at the end of the 1994 season, due to a dip in form that resulted in disappointing performances at the 1992 Olympic Games in France and the 1993 World Championships in Japan.[4] However, she had bounced back by winning two giant slaloms during the 1994 season and claiming podium finishes in the two Super Gs of Cortina. Following these results, she was reconsidering her decision in the days before the fateful downhill run, planning to continue until the 1995 World Championships in Spain.

Unlike most other fatal skiing accidents, her crash happened during a live television broadcast. Maier was survived by her daughter Melanie (b. 1989)[1] and was buried in her home village of Rauris, where thousands attended her funeral.[5] Teammate and close friend Anita Wachter wore Maier's world championship medals in the procession.[6]

Initially it was claimed that her death was caused by hitting a wooden timing post.[7] Based on that claim, Maier's fiancé Hubert Schweighhofer criticized the organizers of the race and filed suit against them.[8] However, several months later the court found that Maier actually did not hit the timing post with her head, but probably broke her neck by crashing into a pile of snow on the border of the race course.[9] The court did not find any negligence from the organizers and dismissed the suit. Manslaughter charges against two FIS race officials were dropped after a settlement was reached in 1996.[10]

World Cup results

Season standings

Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
Slalom 		Super G Downhill Combined
1985 17 62 29 — — — 30
1986 18 77 33 — — — —
1987 19 35 19 32 — — —
1988 20 8 10 9 6 — 10
1989 21 7 13 4 4 — 2
1990 22
1991 23 30 — 9 26 — —
1992 24 13 33 6 4 36 —
1993 25 5 32 4 2 45 14
1994 26 7 33 4 7 46 11

Race podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
1988 30 Nov 1987 Italy Courmayeur, Italy Slalom3rd
7 Mar 1988 United States Aspen, USA Giant Slalom3rd
13 Mar 1988 Canada Rossland, Canada Super G2nd
23 Mar 1988 Austria Saalbach, Austria Giant Slalom3rd
27 Mar 1988 Parallel Slalom[11]2nd
1989 26 Nov 1988 Austria Schladming, Austria Super G2nd
28 Nov 1988 France Les Menuires, France Giant Slalom3rd
16 Dec 1988 Austria Altenmarkt, Austria Combined2nd
6 Jan 1989 Austria Schwarzenberg, Austria Giant Slalom2nd
7 Jan 1989 Giant Slalom2nd
1991 22 Mar 1991 United States Waterville Valley, USA Giant Slalom2nd
1992 26 Jan 1992 France Morzine, France Super G2nd
1993 28 Nov 1992 United States Park City, USA Giant Slalom1st
13 Dec 1992 United States Vail, USA Super G1st
16 Jan 1993 Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Super G1st
20 Mar 1993 Sweden Åre, Sweden Super G2nd
1994 26 Nov 1993 Italy Santa Caterina, Italy Giant Slalom3rd
27 Nov 1993 Giant Slalom1st
15 Jan 1994 Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Super G2nd
17 Jan 1994 Super G3rd
21 Jan 1994 Slovenia Maribor, Slovenia Giant Slalom1st

World Championship results

  Year    Age   Slalom   Giant 
 Slalom  		Super G Downhill Combined
1989 21 — 8 1 — —
1991 23 — 2 1 — —
1993 25 — 15 14 — —

Olympic results

  Year    Age   Slalom   Giant 
 Slalom  		Super G Downhill Combined
1988 20 10 6 — — —
1992 24 —4 5 — —

References

  1. 1 2 "Maier defends super-giant slalom crown". The Telegraph. Nashua, NH. Associated Press. January 29, 1991. p. 17.
  2. ↑ "Ulrike Maier, 26; Austrian Skiing Star Won 2 World Titles". New York Times. January 30, 1994.
  3. ↑ "Austrian skier breaks neck, killed during downhill race". Sunday Star-News. Wilmington, NC. Associated Press. January 30, 1994. p. 8C.
  4. ↑ Lloyd, Barbara (February 3, 1994). "Skiing; Speed is with the risk for some". New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Thousands at Maier Funeral". New York Times. February 4, 1994.
  6. ↑ "Austrian fans say farewell to Maier". Toledo Blade. February 4, 1994. p. 21.
  7. ↑ "Skier's death won't prompt change in Olympic venues". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. February 1, 1994. p. 4D.
  8. ↑ "Skiing; World Cup defends safety despite criticism". New York Times. January 31, 1994.
  9. ↑ . International Herald Tribune 25 November 1994.
  10. ↑ "Death probe". Union-Democrat. Sonora, CA. Associated Press. April 24, 1996. p. 2B.
  11. ↑ "Tomba edges Zurbriggen". Anchorage Daily News. Associated Press. March 28, 1988. p. C2.


Awards
Preceded by
Austria Sigrid Wolf		 Austrian Sportswoman of the year
1989 		Succeeded by
Austria Petra Kronberger
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