German · Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany · Born 24 November 1984German alpine skier and three-time Olympic champion who dominated the combined discipline, becoming one of only two skiers ever to win back-to-back Olympic golds in the event.
Maria Höfl-Riesch, born Maria Riesch on 24 November 1984 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, grew up in one of Germany's most storied ski towns and joined the local SC Partenkirchen club as a child. A prodigious junior talent, she won seven medals across four Junior World Championships before making her World Cup debut in February 2001. Her uncle, Wolfgang Zimmerer, had won Olympic gold in bobsleigh in 1972, and she grew up idolizing German skiing greats Martina Ertl-Renz, Katja Seizinger, and Hilde Gerg. Injuries cost Höfl-Riesch a place at the 2006 Turin Olympics, but she rebounded to become slalom world champion at the 2009 Championships in Val d'Isère. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics she won gold in both slalom and the super combined, and the following year she clinched the overall World Cup title by just three points over close friend and rival Lindsey Vonn, ending Vonn's run of three straight titles. She added a second World Championship gold in the combined at Schladming in 2013. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Höfl-Riesch defended her super combined title with a spectacular slalom comeback, becoming just the second skier ever - after Croatia's Janica Kostelic - to win back-to-back Olympic golds in the event, and joining Katja Seizinger as the only German women with three Olympic alpine skiing titles. She added silver in the super-G days later before announcing her retirement on 20 March 2014, finishing with 27 World Cup wins, 81 podiums, and four Olympic medals across three Games.
Becoming one of only two skiers ever to win back-to-back Olympic golds in the combined discipline, at the 2010 and 2014 Games
How They Played
Versatile racer equally dangerous in speed and technical events, renowned for producing her best skiing on the biggest occasions
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of Germany's greatest alpine skiers, whose versatility across speed and technical disciplines and consistent championship-day performances defined an era of German skiing
Career Honours
- 3x Olympic Gold Medalist (2010 Slalom & Combined, 2014 Combined)
- 2x World Champion (2009 Slalom, 2013 Combined)
- 2011 Overall World Cup Champion
- One of only two skiers ever to defend an Olympic combined title
German Athletes