Ulrike Maier


Ulrike Maier 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.
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. 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.

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, possibly from a patch of soft snow, and caused a violent crash which broke her neck. She died of her injuries shortly after being evacuated to the hospital in nearby Murnau. 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. 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 and was buried in her home village of Rauris, where thousands attended her funeral. Teammate and close friend Anita Wachter wore Maier's world championship medals in the procession.
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. 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. 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.

World Cup results

Season standings

Race podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
198830 Nov 1987 Courmayeur, ItalySlalom3rd
19887 Mar 1988 Aspen, USAGiant Slalom3rd
198813 Mar 1988 Rossland, CanadaSuper G2nd
198823 Mar 1988 Saalbach, AustriaGiant Slalom3rd
198827 Mar 1988 Saalbach, AustriaParallel Slalom2nd
198926 Nov 1988 Schladming, AustriaSuper G2nd
198928 Nov 1988 Les Menuires, FranceGiant Slalom3rd
198916 Dec 1988 Altenmarkt, AustriaCombined2nd
19896 Jan 1989 Schwarzenberg, AustriaGiant Slalom2nd
19897 Jan 1989 Schwarzenberg, AustriaGiant Slalom2nd
199122 Mar 1991 Waterville Valley, USAGiant Slalom2nd
199226 Jan 1992 Morzine, FranceSuper G2nd
199328 Nov 1992 Park City, USAGiant Slalom1st
199313 Dec 1992 Vail, USASuper G1st
199316 Jan 1993 Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalySuper G1st
199320 Mar 1993 Åre, SwedenSuper G2nd
199426 Nov 1993 Santa Caterina, ItalyGiant Slalom3rd
199427 Nov 1993 Santa Caterina, ItalyGiant Slalom1st
199415 Jan 1994 Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalySuper G2nd
199417 Jan 1994 Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalySuper G3rd
199421 Jan 1994 Maribor, SloveniaGiant Slalom1st

World Championship results

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