Maria Höfl-Riesch
Maria Höfl-Riesch (German pronunciation: [maˈʁiːa ˌhøːfl̩ ˈʁiːʃ] ⓘ; née Riesch, born 24 November 1984) is a former German World Cup alpine ski racer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, two-time world champion, and an overall World Cup champion.
Maria Höfl-Riesch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Riesch in 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 November 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Downhill, super-G, slalom, combined, giant slalom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | SC Partenkirchen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 16 February 2001 (age 16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 20 March 2014 (age 29) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | maria.com.de | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 2 – (2010, 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 4 (3 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 5 – (2003, 2007–13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 6 (2 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 – (2002–2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 1 – (2011) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 5 – (1 DH, 1 SG, 2 SL, 1 SC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Höfl-Riesch made her World Cup debut in February 2001 and won gold medals in slalom and super combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She won the World Cup overall title in 2011.[1] At the 2014 Winter Olympics, she defended her super combined title to win her third Olympic gold medal, and also won a silver medal in the super-G.
Career
Born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,[2] Höfl-Riesch was a prodigious talent as a junior and won seven medals in all of the disciplines at four Junior World Championships, including three gold medals in combined and super-G.[3]
As the racing careers of Martina Ertl-Renz and Hilde Gerg concluded, Höfl-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, Höfl-Riesch won four slalom events on the World Cup tour and won the gold medal in the slalom at the 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 built a big lead early in the 2011 season which was enough to win the overall title, besting three-time defending champion Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. by just three points. At the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Vonn took the overall lead after the downhill, then Riesch reclaimed it after the slalom;[4] the super-G and giant slalom races were cancelled due to poor conditions.[1] She retired after the 2014 season after crashing in the downhill World Cup Final.[5]
Personal
Höfl-Riesch is also a nationally ranked tennis player and a cyclist.[6] Her younger sister, Susanne Riesch, is also a former World Cup ski racer, specializing in the slalom.[7] Her uncle, Wolfgang Zimmerer was a bobsledder during the 1960s and 1970s and competed for West Germany in the Winter Olympics, winning gold with Peter Utzschneider at the Two-man bobsleigh during the 1972 Winter Olympics.[8] She has been a chief constable in the Bundeszollverwaltung (German Federal Customs Service) during her sports career.
One of her closest friends (and major rival) on the World Cup tour was Lindsey Vonn of the United States.
Höfl-Riesch married her manager Marcus Höfl on 14 April 2011.[9]
At a height of 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in), she was one of the tallest women on the World Cup circuit.
World Cup results
Season standings
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 16 | 109 | – | – | 42 | — | — |
| 2002 | 17 | 96 | 46 | 50 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 18 | 32 | 40 | 42 | 37 | 14 | 3 |
| 2004 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 5 | 7 | — |
| 2005 | 20 | 43 | 44 | 32 | 26 | 27 | — |
| 2006 | 21 | 69 | – | 49 | 35 | 44 | — |
| 2007 | 22 | 14 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 7 | 36 |
| 2008 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 2009 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 4 |
| 2010 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 5 |
| 2011 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 2012 | 27 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| 2013 | 28 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 2014 | 29 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
Source:[10]
Race victories
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 3 victories (1 DH, 1 SG, 1 SL) | 30 Jan 2004 |  Haus im Ennstal, Austria | Downhill |
| 1 Feb 2004 | Super-G | ||
| 29 Feb 2004 |  Levi, Finland | Slalom | |
| 2007 | 1 Dec 2006 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill |
| 2008 (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 | |
| 4 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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} St. Moritz, Switzerland | Downhill | |
| 10 Mar 2010 |  Garmisch, Germany | Downhill | |
| 2011 7 victories (3 DH, 1 SL, 1 SC, 1 SG, 1 NTE) | 3 Dec 2010 | Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill |
| 4 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 | Team event | |
| 2012 3 victories (1 DH, 1 SL, 1 SC) | 29 Jan 2012 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | Super combined |
| 18 Feb 2012 |  Sochi, Russia | Downhill | |
| 10 Mar 2012 | Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 2013 | 10 Nov 2012 | Levi, Finland | Slalom |
| 2014 3 victories (3 DH) | 6 Dec 2013 | Lake Louise, Canada | Downhill |
| 7 Dec 2013 | Downhill | ||
| 24 Jan 2014 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Downhill |
World Championship results
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 18 | DNF1 | DNF1 | DNF | 17 | 5 |
| 2005 | 20 | injured, did not compete | ||||
| 2007 | 22 | — | 23 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
| 2009 | 24 | 1 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 4 |
| 2011 | 26 | 4 | DNF2 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 2013 | 28 | DNF2 | 9 | DNF | 3 | 1 |
Olympic results
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 21 | injured, did not compete | ||||
| 2010 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| 2014 | 29 | 4 | DNS1 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
References
- "Cancellation gives Riesch overall crown". Ski Racing.com. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- Harry, Nutt (14 February 2009). "Kratzer am Kinn". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- "Alpine Ski". Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "Maze edges Schild for her first World Cup slalom win; Riesch takes slim lead in overall". Ski Racing.com. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "Maria Hoefl-Riesch has no second thoughts about retirement". NBC Sports. August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- "Riesch wins gold". Deutsche Welle. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "Susanne Riesch beendet ihre Karriere" [Susanne Riesch has ended her career]. WirtschaftsBlatt (in German). 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wolfgang Zimmerer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- "Nun startet sie als Höfl-Riesch". faz.net (in German). 14 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- "Maria Joefl-Riesch". FIS. World Cup season standings. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
External links
- Maria Höfl-Riesch at FIS (alpine)
- Maria Höfl-Riesch at Olympics.com
- Maria Höfl-Riesch at Olympedia
- Maria Höfl-Riesch at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (in German)
- Maria Höfl-Riesch at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Photo report: Celebrating Maria Riesch
- Official website
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