Maria Höfl-Riesch

Maria Höfl-Riesch

Maria Höfl-Riesch
Disciplines	Downhill, Super-G, Giant slalom, Slalom, Combined
Club	SC Partenkirchen
Born	November 24, 1984 (1984-11-24) (age 26) Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
World Cup debut	February 16, 2001 (age 16)
Website	mariariesch.de
Olympics
Teams	1 - (2010)
Medals	2 (2 gold)
World Championships
Teams	4 - (2003, 07-11)
Medals	3 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	11
Wins	20
Podiums	58
Overall titles	1 - (2011)
Discipline titles	4 - (1 SG, 2 SL, 1 SC)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Competitor for  Germany Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Combined Gold 2010 Vancouver Slalom World Championships Gold 2009 Val d'Isère Slalom Bronze 2011 Garmisch Super-G Bronze 2011 Garmisch Downhill

Maria Höfl-Riesch (née Riesch, pronounced /ˈriːʃ/, born November 24, 1984) is a champion alpine ski racer. She won gold medals in slalom and super combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics and won the World Cup overall title in 2011.^[1] At a height of 1.80 m (5'11"), she is one of the tallest women on the World Cup circuit.

Career

Maria Riesch was born on November 24, 1984, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany.^[2] A prodigious talent as a junior in 2001 and 2003, Riesch won seven medals in all of the disciplines at the Junior World Championships, including three gold medals in combined and super giant slalom.^[3]

As the racing careers of Martina Ertl-Renz and Hilde Gerg concluded, Riesch rose as the leading female racer on the German national team. Injuries cut short her seasons in 2005 and 2006, causing her to miss the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics.

During the 2009 season, she won four slalom events on the World Cup tour and won the gold medal in the slalom at the 2009 World Championships. Prior to 2009, her most successful season was in 2004, when she finished third in the overall World Cup standings, with three race victories. She also finished third in the overall standings in 2008. In the 2007 season she won her second Downhill race, at Lake Louise, Canada.

Riesch won two gold medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics, in the super combined and slalom. After finishing second in the overall World Cup standings in 2009 and 2010, Riesch won the overall title in 2011, besting three-time defending champion Lindsey Vonn by just three points.

Personal

Riesch is also a nationally-ranked tennis player and a cyclist.^[4] Her younger sister, Susanne Riesch, is also a World Cup ski racer, specializing in the slalom.

One of her former closest friends (and major rival) on the World Cup tour is Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. During competition in Europe, Vonn and her husband traditionally spend Christmas Eve at the Riesch family home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

She married her manager Marcus Höfl on 14 April 2011.^[5]

World Cup victories

Season titles

5 titles (1 Overall, 1 Super G, 1 Combined, 2 Slalom )

Season	Discipline
2008	Super G
	Combined
2009	Slalom
2010	Slalom
2011	Overall

Race victories

20 race victories (7 Downhill, 3 Super G, 7 Slalom, 3 Combined)

Season	Date	Location	Race
2004 3 victories (1 DH, 1 SG, 1 SL)	30 Jan 2004	Haus im Ennstal, Austria	Downhill
	01 Feb 2004		Super G
	29 Feb 2004	Levi, Finland	Slalom
2007	01 Dec 2006	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill
2008 2 victories (1 SG, 1 SC)	21 Jan 2008	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Super-G
	24 Feb 2008	Whistler, Canada	Super Combined
2009 5 victories (4 SL, 1 SC)	14 Dec 2008	La Molina, Spain	Slalom
	29 Dec 2008	Semmering, Austria	Slalom
	04 Jan 2009	Zagreb, Croatia	Slalom
	11 Jan 2009	Maribor, Slovenia	Slalom
	20 Feb 2009	Tarvisio, Italy	Super Combined
2010 3 victories (1 SL, 2 DH)	14 Nov 2009	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	30 Jan 2010	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Downhill
	10 Mar 2010	Garmisch, Germany	Downhill
2011 7 victories (3 DH, 1 SL, 1 SC, 1 SG, 1 NTE)	03 Dec 2010	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill
	04 Dec 2010		Downhill
	11 Jan 2011	Flachau, Austria	Slalom
	22 Jan 2011	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Downhill
	25 Feb 2011	Åre, Sweden	Super Combined
	27 Feb 2011		Super G
	20 Mar 2011	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Nations Team Event

References

1. ^ Ski Racing.com - Cancellation gives Riesch overall crown - 2011-03-19
2. ^ Harry, Nutt (14 February 2009). "Kratzer am Kinn" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. http://www.fr-online.de/home/kratzer-am-kinn/-/1472778/3355286/-/index.html. Retrieved 21 March 2011. 
3. ^ http://www.fisalpineworldcup.com/Fis_alpine/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110&Itemid=99&competitorid=50980
4. ^ http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=12760&DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=1620104
5. ^ "Nun startet sie als Höfl-Riesch" (in German). faz.net. 14 April 2011. http://www.faz.net/s/Rub413BA5AD8E3D412282EE9A4C6AFA02FC/Doc~E3DAAC7254BD34498AA60EF97C2D7098A~ATpl~Ecommon~SMed.html. Retrieved 14 April 2011. 

External links

• Maria Höfl-Riesch at the International Ski Federation
• FIS-ski.com – World Cup season standings – Maria Riesch
• Ski-DB.com - Results - Maria Riesch
• Maria Riesch.de – (German) - official homepage
• Vancouver 2010.com - Maria Riesch - Germany - Alpine skiing
• Photo report: Celebrating Maria Riesch

Awards
Preceded by Steffi Nerius	German Sportswoman of the Year 2010	Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Höfl-Riesch, Maria
Alternative names	Riesch, Maria
Short description
Date of birth	24 November 1984
Place of birth	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Date of death
Place of death