| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1967-10-22)22 October 1967 Rauris, Salzburg, Austria |
| Died | 29 January 1994(1994-01-29) (aged 26) Murnau, Bavaria, Germany |
| Occupation | Alpine skier |
| Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) |
| Skiing career | |
| Disciplines | Downhill,super-G,giant slalom,slalom,combined |
| Club | USCRauris |
| World Cup debut | 9 December1984 (age 17) |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 2 – (1988,1992) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 3 – (1989,1991,1993) |
| Medals | 3 (2 gold) |
| World Cup | |
| Seasons | 9 – (1985–1989,1991–1994) |
| Wins | 5 – (2SG, 3GS) |
| Podiums | 21 |
| Overall titles | 0 –(5th in1993) |
| Discipline titles | 0 –(2nd inSG, 1993) |
Medal record | |
Ulrike Maier (22 October 1967 – 29 January 1994) was aWorld Cupalpine ski racer fromAustria, a two-timeWorld Champion insuper-G. She competed at the1988 Winter Olympics and the1992 Winter Olympics.[1]
Born inRauris,Salzburg, where her father ran a ski school, Maier won thesuper-G gold medal at theWorld Championships in both1989 and1991.[2] She also took home thegiant slalom silver medal in the 1991 event. Her first of five World Cup wins came in November1992 and she attained 21 podiums and 59 top ten finishes in her World Cup career.
Two weeks prior to the1994 Winter Olympics, the women's World Cup was inGarmisch-Partenkirchen,Germany, in late January. Thedownhill on the classicKandahar course atGarmisch Classic was held on Saturday, 29 January, 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.[3]
She died of her injuries shortly after being evacuated to the hospital in nearbyMurnau.[4] At the age of 26, she had considered retirement at the end of the1994 season, due to a dip in form that resulted in disappointing performances at the1992 Olympic Games in France and the1993 World Championships in Japan.[5] 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 the1995 World Championships inSpain.[citation needed]
Unlike most other fatal skiing accidents, her crash happened during a live television broadcast. Maier was survived by her daughter Melanie (b. 1989)[2] and was buried in her home village of Rauris, where thousands attended her funeral.[6] Teammate and close friendAnita Wachter wore Maier's world championship medals in the procession.[7]
Initially it was claimed that her death was caused by hitting a wooden timing post. Based on that claim, Maier's fiancé Hubert Schweighofer 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 twoFIS race officials were dropped after a settlement was reached in 1996.[10]
| 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 |
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 30 Nov 1987 |  Courmayeur,Italy | Slalom | 3rd |
| 7 Mar 1988 |  Aspen,USA | Giant slalom | 3rd | |
| 13 Mar 1988 |  Rossland,Canada | Super-G | 2nd | |
| 23 Mar 1988 |  Saalbach,Austria | Giant slalom | 3rd | |
| 27 Mar 1988 | Parallel slalom[11] | 2nd | ||
| 1989 | 26 Nov 1988 | Schladming, Austria | Super-G | 2nd |
| 28 Nov 1988 |  Les Menuires,France | Giant slalom | 3rd | |
| 16 Dec 1988 | Altenmarkt, Austria | Combined | 2nd | |
| 6 Jan 1989 | Schwarzenberg, Austria | Giant slalom | 2nd | |
| 7 Jan 1989 | Giant slalom | 2nd | ||
| 1991 | 22 Mar 1991 | Waterville Valley, USA | Giant slalom | 2nd |
| 1992 | 26 Jan 1992 | Morzine, France | Super-G | 2nd |
| 1993 | 28 Nov 1992 | Park City, USA | Giant slalom | 1st |
| 13 Dec 1992 | Vail, USA | Super-G | 1st | |
| 16 Jan 1993 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Super-G | 1st | |
| 20 Mar 1993 |  Åre,Sweden | Super-G | 2nd | |
| 1994 | 26 Nov 1993 | Santa Caterina, Italy | Giant slalom | 3rd |
| 27 Nov 1993 | Giant slalom | 1st | ||
| 15 Jan 1994 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Super-G | 2nd | |
| 17 Jan 1994 | Super-G | 3rd | ||
| 21 Jan 1994 |  Maribor,Slovenia | Giant slalom | 1st |
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 21 | — | 8 | 1 | — | — |
| 1991 | 23 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 1993 | 25 | — | 15 | 14 | — | — |
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 20 | 10 | 6 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 24 | — | 4 | 5 | — | — |
| |
Women's World Champions:Downhill • Super-G • Giant Slalom • Slalom • Combined • Combined Team • Parallel Giant Slalom • Mixed Team |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Austrian Sportswoman of the year 1989 | Succeeded by |
