Alexandra Meissnitzer

Alexandra Meissnitzer ( born June 18, 1973 in Abtenau, Salzburg ) is an Austrian former alpine skier. It was once the overall World Cup winner and twice winner of a discipline World Cups. She is two-time world champion and won four more medals at Olympics and World Championships. Previously, Alexandra Meissnitzer executive staff of the Federal Police, today it operates in the private sector. Your ski club is the UPS Abtenau.

  • 2.1 The Olympic Games
  • 2.2 World Championships
  • 2.3 Junior World Championships
  • 2.4 World Cup
  • 2.5 World Cup wins
  • 2.6 European Cup
  • 2.7 Austrian Championships

Career

Junior time

After completion of high school Alexandra Meissnitzer graduated (called " Meisi " ) the Skihandelsschule Schladming and then began training as a police officer. This allowed her to spend a lot of time for training. In 1989, she was two -time Austrian Junior Champion, 1990 and 1991, there were even three youth championship. Good performance in the European Cup (overall, super -G and giant slalom victory in 1990/91 ) and at the Junior World Championship in 1991 in Geilo and Hemsedal ( 4th place in the Super -G) entitled them to participate in the Ski World Cup. My first World Cup race was on December 7, 1991, the Super -G in Santa Caterina, she finished in 28th.

In the season 1991/92 she was at the Junior World Championships in Maribor Second in Downhill and third in the Super-G, they also won the European Cup super-G standings. On December 12, 1992, she crashed heavily on the descent from Vail. Although minor injuries healed quickly, but Alexandra Meissnitzer had to fight in the episode with mental problems, could barely get a good result and was for many already as " eternal talent ".

Highs and lows

After good performances in the European Cup they won earlier in the season 1994/95, again the launch permissions for the World Cup. The breakthrough of the world leaders finally she succeeded a year later. On December 7, 1995, she won the Super G in Val d'Isere. Before the World Ski Championships 1996, she was considered Mitfavoritin, but reached an ankle injury only rear seats.

In the season 1996/97 she fell back into a deep and rather significant performance achieved mediocre results. But the new head coach Karl Frehsner led Meissnitzer and the Austrian women's team, which had remained in that season far behind the expectations of the public and of the Austrian Ski Federation, back to success.

In the 1997/98 season scoring Alexandra Meissnitzer six podiums in the last race of the winter their first victory in a World Cup giant slalom. At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano in 1998, she won silver in the giant slalom and bronze in super -G, in the downhill, she was eighth. These performances earned her the choice to Austrian Sportswoman of the Year 1998.

Dream season

After changing to a different ski brand she felt extra motivation at the beginning of the 1998/99 season. The season proved to be the most successful of their career. In the World Ski Championships 1999, held in Vail and Beaver Creek, she won the gold medal twice, in the super-G and giant slalom. In the descent, she finished fourth and missed the bronze medal by only ten hundredths of a second.

During the winter, she won eight World Cup races. She decided not only the overall World Cup standings with a large margin for herself, she was seen over the entire season in the Super -G and giant slalom the most successful athlete. Added to this was the second place in the downhill World Cup. Again, she was elected Athlete of the Year.

Your winning streak led her back to the skitechnische work with coach Karl Frehsner, their close friendship with the U.S. alpine skier Picabo Street and Qigong meditation exercises. Previously, she was considered a " bundle of nerves " had often put unnecessary pressure and therefore could not always fulfill their existing potential. You thought he was " insanely complicated, but really shy ." Within a year, Alexandra Meissnitzer matured but the undisputed team leader ( "I currently feel so strong that the others can build up on me ").

Setback and comeback

In Canadian Lake Louise, in training for the 1999/2000 season first exit, Alexandra Meissnitzer suffered after a bad fall a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, meniscus tears of the outer and the sideband and other injuries in his left knee. She had to prematurely end the season. During her forced break them completed her education as a policewoman. During summer training in Chile tore the meniscus again. Although the following treatment was relatively good, appeared the seventh place in the Super G in Val d'Isere in December 2000 as a small sensation. In the World Ski Championships 2001 in St. Anton am Arlberg they reached at least the eighth place in the giant slalom.

Before the season 2001/ 02 was due Meissnitzer Selecting the wrong treatment methods also long time did not fully work out. Several rankings in the top ten and the first podium for almost three years, they voted with respect to the 2002 Winter Olympics pretty confident. There they missed in the Super -G and giant slalom medals however scarce and each was fourth.

In the season 2002/ 03 she established herself with five podiums again lead the world to a win but it was not enough. In the World Ski Championships 2003 in St. Moritz, she won only beaten by eleven hundredths of a second in the downhill silver medal, by the surprising Mélanie Turgeon Canadian. In the super -G was fifth, while she was eliminated in the first run of the giant slalom.

In January 2004, after nearly five years Meissnitzer won again a World Cup race, the super -G of Megève. The remainder of the 2003/04 season was rather unspectacular with one another podium finish. This also applies to the 2004/05 season. After winning the Super -G of Altenmarkt in December was followed by numerous less good results such as the 22nd place in the downhill at the World Ski Championships 2005 in Santa Caterina.

Already 32 years old, she experienced in the 2005/06 season such thing as a " second spring." With a win and four other podiums she sat over against much younger competitors through and qualified for the Olympic Winter Games 2006., Where she won her sixth overall medal, bronze in her favorite discipline super -G.

This level could not keep you Meissnitzer in the next two seasons. While they drove repeatedly into the top ten, but did not reach the podium. In the 2007 World Cup was eighth in the Super -G. In December 2007, she came to the exit from Aspen to fall, so they had to pause for five weeks. On 13 March 2008 Alexandra Meissnitzer ended with the Super -G in Bormio her career, in which you as a third party once again achieved a podium finish. Since December 20, 2008 she is a co- commentator and camera runner at alpine women's race for the ORF in use.

In 2011 she finished second in the sixth season of the ORF - dance show Dancing with the Stars together with professional dancer Florian Gschaider second place.

Achievements

Olympic games

  • Nagano 1998: 2 Giant Slalom, Super-G, 3rd, 8th departure
  • Salt Lake City 2002: 4 Super -G, Giant Slalom 4
  • Turin 2006: 3 Super -G, downhill 8

World Championships

  • Sierra Nevada 1996: 16 Downhill, 23 Super -G
  • Sestriere 1997: 13 Super -G, downhill 17
  • Vail / Beaver Creek 1999: 1st Giant Slalom, Super-G 1, 4th exit
  • St. Anton 2001: 8 Super -G, downhill 11
  • St. Moritz 2003: 2nd exit, 5 Super G
  • Santa Caterina 2005: 22 Departure
  • Åre 2007: 8 Super -G

Junior World Championships

  • Zinal 1990: 13th downhill, giant slalom 14
  • Geilo / Hemsedal 1991: 4 Super -G, Giant Slalom 7, 16 departure
  • Maribor 1992: 2nd exit, third Super -G, Giant Slalom 7

World Cup

World Cup wins

A total of 14 World Cup races won Alexandra Meissnitzer (7 x Super -G, Giant Slalom and 5 x 2 x Departure).

In addition, it reached 30 times the podium ( 6 times in the downhill, 11 times in the Super- G, 11 times in the giant slalom, 2 times in the parallel slalom ) and 97 other rankings in the top ten (31 times in the departure, 41 times in the Super- G, giant Slalom 23 times, 2 times in the combination ).

European Cup

  • Season 1990/91: 1st overall, 1st Super -G, Giant Slalom 1st, 6th departure
  • 1991/92 season: 1 Super -G
  • Season 1993/94: 3rd overall, 2nd Super -G, downhill 7

Austrian Championships

  • Six times Austrian Champion: Departure ( 1994), Super-G (1994, 1998, 2002 ), giant slalom (1999, 2004)

Awards

  • Austrian Sportswoman of the Year (1998 and 1999)
  • Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria (1998)
Slalom skiing Alpine skiing combined Winter Olympic Games Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics Alpine skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1999 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships 1999 Alpine Skiing World Cup Santa Caterina di Valfurva Vail (Colorado) 1998 Alpine Skiing World Cup Nagano, Nagano Beaver Creek Resort FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2001 2005 Alpine Skiing World Cup FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005 2006 Alpine Skiing World Cup FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2007 Aspen (Colorado) Dancing Stars (Austria season 6) Dancing Stars (Austrian TV series) Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1997 1996 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup France Veysonnaz Crans-Montana Park City (Utah) Italy Sierra Nevada (Spain) Maria Walliser Ulrike Maier Katja Seizinger Isolde Kostner Michaela Dorfmeister Tina Maze Dagmar Rom Ossi Reichert Lucile Wheeler Marianne Jahn Marielle Goitschel Nancy Greene Betsy Clifford Fabienne Serrat Kathy Kreiner Erika Hess Vreni Schneider Pernilla Wiberg Carole Merle Deborah Compagnoni Sonja Nef Tessa Worley List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's champions Gertrude Gabl Lise-Marie Morerod Tamara McKinney Michela Figini Petra Kronberger Anita Wachter Anna Fenninger
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