Rosi Mittermaier

Rosemarie "Rosi" Mittermaier-Neureuther (born 5 August 1950) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Germany. She was the overall World Cup champion in 1976 and a double gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics.[3]

Rosi Mittermaier
Alpine skier
Mittermaier and husband
Christian Neureuther in May 2013
DisciplinesDownhill, Giant Slalom,
Slalom, Combined
Born (1950-08-05) 5 August 1950
Reit im Winkl, Bavaria,
West Germany
Height1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)
World Cup debut1 February 1967 (age 16)
Retired31 May 1976 (age 25)[1][2]
Websiterosi-mittermaier.de
Olympics
Teams3 – (1968, 1972, 1976)
Medals3 (2 gold)
World Championships
Teams5 – (1968–76)
includes 3 Olympics
Medals4 (3 gold)
World Cup
Seasons10 – (1967–76)
Wins10 – (1 GS, 8 SL, 1 K)
Podiums41 – (4 DH, 11 GS, 22 SL, 4 K)
Overall titles1 – (1976)
Discipline titles2 – (SL & K in 1976)
Medal record
Women's alpine skiing
Representing  West Germany
Olympic Games
1976 Innsbruck Downhill
1976 Innsbruck Slalom
1976 Innsbruck Giant Slalom
World Championships
1976 Innsbruck Combined

Racing career

Born in Reit im Winkl, Bavaria, Mittermaier won two gold medals (downhill and slalom) and one silver (giant slalom) at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.[4][5] Her victory in the Olympic downhill was the only downhill win in her international career. Mittermaier was the most successful athlete at those games, along with cross-country skier Raisa Smetanina of the Soviet Union, earning her the nickname of Gold-Rosi within Germany (then West Germany).

Mittermaier made her World Cup debut in the inaugural season of 1967 at age 16, and won her first World Cup race two seasons later. She retired from international competition at age 25,[1] following the very successful 1976 season. In addition to the overall World Cup title, she also won the season title in slalom and combined in 1976. After winning both races at Copper Mountain in Colorado to wrap up the overall and slalom titles,[6] the four-year-old resort immediately named the race course run after her.[7][8]

In addition to her success in international competition, she also won 16 German national titles during her career.[9]

After racing

Today, Mittermaier works for several charities and occasionally as a commentator for German television for major sporting events. She established a charitable foundation to aid children with rheumatism in 2000.[9]

Personal life

Mittermaier's father was a ski school operator in her home town of Reit-im-Winkl.[10] She was born with a twin sister who died at birth. Her younger sister Evi Mittermaier also competed as an alpine skier and previously lived in a hotel.[9][10] Rosi and Evi also recorded two albums of Bavarian folk songs together.[9]

She is married to Christian Neureuther, winner of six World Cup slalom races. They were wed in 1980 and are the parents of Felix Neureuther (b. 1984), a World Cup ski racer for Germany.[3]

World Cup results
Rosi Mittermaier on a 1976 Paraguay stamp

Season standings
SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
Slalom		Super GDownhillCombined
1967162719—not
run		—not
awarded
19681712118—
19691874115
1970191181012
1971201413915
19722164710
1973224289
197423721311
1975243776
19762511391

Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).

Season titles
SeasonDiscipline
1976Overall
Slalom
Combined

Race victories
  • 10 wins – (1 GS, 8 SL, 1 K)
  • 41 podiums – (4 DH, 11 GS, 22 SL, 4 K)
SeasonDateLocationDiscipline
196916 Jan 1969 Schruns, AustriaSlalom
197014 Mar 1970 Voss, NorwaySlalom
19732 Feb 1973 Schruns, AustriaSlalom
197427 Feb 1974 Abetone, ItalySlalom
8 Mar 1974 Vysoké Tatry, CzechoslovakiaSlalom
197513 Dec 1974 Cortina d'Ampezzo, ItalySlalom
197617 Dec 1975Combined
22 Jan 1976 Bad Gastein, AustriaSlalom
5 Mar 1976 Copper Mountain, USAGiant Slalom
6 Mar 1976Slalom

World championship results
  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
196817DNF220not run25—
197019157205
197221171267
1974236DNFDNF—
1976251211

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
196817DNF220not run25not run
19722117126
197625121

Video

References
  1. "Rosi Mittermaier retires from racing". Ottawa Citizen. Reuters. 1 June 1976. p. 27.
  2. "'Grandma' Rosi out of racing". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. 1 June 1976. p. 21.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rosi Mittermaier". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  4. Johnson, William Oscar (16 February 1976). "On came the heroes". Sports Illustrated: 13.
  5. Johnson, William Oscar (23 February 1976). "Opening up those golden gates". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
  6. "Mittermaier wins World Cup". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. 7 March 1976. p. 3B.
  7. "Rosi has run named for her". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. 8 March 1976. p. 20.
  8. Looney, Douglas S. (15 March 1976). "Adding a title to a triumph". Sports Illustrated: 18.
  9. Cazeneuve, Brian (18 February 2012). "2002 Winter Olympics – SI Daily: Where are they now? Rosi Mittermaier". CNNSI. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  10. Scott, Ronald B. (7 March 1977). "Rosi Mittermaier Parlays Olympic Gold into Fame and Wealth". People. Retrieved 28 December 2013.


Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Ellen Wellmann		 German Sportswoman of the Year
1976		 Succeeded by
Eva Wilms
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