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.[2] 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 attained 21 podiums and 59 top ten finishes in her World Cup career.
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, 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 nearby Murnau.[4] 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.[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 the 1995 World Championships in Spain.[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 friend Anita 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 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]
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
^ ab"Maier defends super-giant slalom crown". The Telegraph. Nashua, NH. Associated Press. January 29, 1991. p. 17.
^"Ulrike Maier, 26; Austrian Skiing Star Won 2 World Titles". New York Times. January 30, 1994.
^"Austrian skier breaks neck, killed during downhill race". Sunday Star-News. Wilmington, NC. Associated Press. January 30, 1994. p. 8C.
^Lloyd, Barbara (February 3, 1994). "Skiing; Speed is with the risk for some". New York Times.
^"Thousands at Maier Funeral". New York Times. February 4, 1994.
^"Austrian fans say farewell to Maier". Toledo Blade. February 4, 1994. p. 21.
^"Skiing; World Cup defends safety despite criticism". New York Times. January 31, 1994.
ulrike, maier, october, 1967, january, 1994, world, alpine, racer, from, austria, time, world, champion, super, competed, 1988, winter, olympics, 1992, winter, olympics, alpine, skierpicture, from, gravedisciplinesdownhill, super, giant, slalom, slalom, combin. 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 She competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 Winter Olympics 1 Ulrike MaierAlpine skierPicture of Ulrike Maier from her graveDisciplinesDownhill Super G Giant slalom Slalom CombinedClubUSC RaurisBorn 1967 10 22 22 October 1967Rauris Salzburg AustriaDied29 January 1994 1994 01 29 aged 26 Murnau Bavaria GermanyHeight163 cm 5 ft 4 in World Cup debut9 December 1984 age 17 OlympicsTeams2 1988 1992 World ChampionshipsTeams3 1989 1991 1993 Medals3 2 gold World CupSeasons9 1985 1989 1991 1994 Wins5 2 SG 3 GS Podiums21Overall titles0 5th in 1993 Discipline titles0 2nd in SG 1993 Medal record Women s alpine skiingRepresenting AustriaWorld Championships1989 Vail Super G1991 Saalbach Super G1991 Saalbach Giant SlalomBorn 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 2 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 attained 21 podiums and 59 top ten finishes in her World Cup career Contents 1 Accident 2 World Cup results 2 1 Season standings 2 2 Race podiums 3 World Championship results 4 Olympic results 5 References 6 External linksAccident EditTwo 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 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 nearby Murnau 4 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 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 the 1995 World Championships in Spain 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 friend Anita 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 fiance 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 EditSeason standings Edit Season Age Overall Slalom GiantSlalom Super G Downhill Combined1985 17 62 29 301986 18 77 33 1987 19 35 19 32 1988 20 8 10 9 6 101989 21 7 13 4 4 21990 221991 23 30 9 26 1992 24 13 33 6 4 36 1993 25 5 32 4 2 45 141994 26 7 33 4 7 46 11Race podiums Edit 5 wins 2 SG 3 GS 21 podiums 8 SG 10 GS 1 SL 1 PS 1 K Season Date Location Discipline Place1988 30 Nov 1987 Courmayeur Italy Slalom 3rd7 Mar 1988 Aspen USA Giant Slalom 3rd13 Mar 1988 Rossland Canada Super G 2nd23 Mar 1988 Saalbach Austria Giant Slalom 3rd27 Mar 1988 Parallel Slalom 11 2nd1989 26 Nov 1988 Schladming Austria Super G 2nd28 Nov 1988 Les Menuires France Giant Slalom 3rd16 Dec 1988 Altenmarkt Austria Combined 2nd6 Jan 1989 Schwarzenberg Austria Giant Slalom 2nd7 Jan 1989 Giant Slalom 2nd1991 22 Mar 1991 Waterville Valley USA Giant Slalom 2nd1992 26 Jan 1992 Morzine France Super G 2nd1993 28 Nov 1992 Park City USA Giant Slalom 1st13 Dec 1992 Vail USA Super G 1st16 Jan 1993 Cortina d Ampezzo Italy Super G 1st20 Mar 1993 Are Sweden Super G 2nd1994 26 Nov 1993 Santa Caterina Italy Giant Slalom 3rd27 Nov 1993 Giant Slalom 1st15 Jan 1994 Cortina d Ampezzo Italy Super G 2nd17 Jan 1994 Super G 3rd21 Jan 1994 Maribor Slovenia Giant Slalom 1stWorld Championship results Edit Year Age Slalom Giant Slalom Super G Downhill Combined1989 21 8 1 1991 23 2 1 1993 25 15 14 Olympic results Edit Year Age Slalom Giant Slalom Super G Downhill Combined1988 20 10 6 1992 24 4 5 References Edit Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Ulrike Maier Olympic Results Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 24 March 2018 a b Maier defends super giant slalom crown The Telegraph Nashua NH Associated Press January 29 1991 p 17 Ulrike Maier 26 Austrian Skiing Star Won 2 World Titles New York Times January 30 1994 Austrian skier breaks neck killed during downhill race Sunday Star News Wilmington NC Associated Press January 30 1994 p 8C Lloyd Barbara February 3 1994 Skiing Speed is with the risk for some New York Times Thousands at Maier Funeral New York Times February 4 1994 Austrian fans say farewell to Maier Toledo Blade February 4 1994 p 21 Skiing World Cup defends safety despite criticism New York Times January 31 1994 1 International Herald Tribune 25 November 1994 Death probe Union Democrat Sonora CA Associated Press April 24 1996 p 2B Tomba edges Zurbriggen Anchorage Daily News Associated Press March 28 1988 p C2 External links EditUlrike Maier at the International Ski Federation Ulrike Maier World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation Ulrike Maier at Ski DB Alpine Ski Database Ulrike Maier at Olympics at Sports Reference com archived Ulrike Maier at the International Olympic Committee Deadly Ski Accident from Ulrike Maier on YouTube Ulrike Maier s Deadly Crash on YouTube Ulrike Maier at Find a Grave AwardsPreceded by Sigrid Wolf Austrian Sportswoman of the year1989 Succeeded by Petra Kronberger Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ulrike Maier amp oldid 1134740789, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
