Christine Sponring

Christine Sponring ( born June 22, 1983 in Schwaz ) is an Austrian former alpine skier from Weer in Tyrol. She started in all disciplines, was at first in the slalom, but after her many injuries increased in the speed disciplines successfully. She celebrated her biggest success with the Vice World Champion title in the combination in St. Anton 2001.

  • 2.1 The Olympic Games
  • 2.2 World Championships
  • 2.3 Junior World Championships
  • 2.4 World Cup
  • 2.5 European Cup
  • 2.6 Further successes

Career

Christine Sponring denied their first ski race at the age of three years, after winning numerous student race and multiply the Bezirkscup. At age eleven, she decided against tennis and skiing. You successfully completed the Skihandelsschule in Stams and trained as a police officer.

The Rapid Rise

She celebrated her first major success in 2000 at the Junior World Championships in Quebec City by winning the bronze medal in the downhill. In the following season 2000/ 01 she went for the first time in the European Cup and was able to win four slaloms. Thus they played their first race in the World Cup, where they gathered in the slalom in Sestriere than 22 their first World Cup points. At the World Cup slalom in Flachau, she was sensational ninth and qualified for the World Championships in St. Anton. There Sponring succeeded her greatest success so far: The then 17 - year-old won a surprise silver medal in the combination behind Martina Ertl. With twelfth place in the downhill and the second fastest time in the slalom she put it their all-round skills to the test. A few days later she won the special slalom twelfth. At the Junior World Championships in Verbier she got to consider the gold medal in the slalom and reached number four in giant slalom. Just think she was Austrian Champion in slalom and won the junior title in the downhill. At the end of the season the Tyrolean made ​​the jump from the Austrians B- squad for the national team.

Right at the start of next season 2001/ 02 reached Sponring their first podium in the World Cup. She had to slalom in Copper Mountain, only the Frenchwoman Laure Pequegnot to 0.17 seconds admit defeat. In the media, the new ski talent was already celebrated great, but it should not continue. In six of the nine season slalom she saw - after some great laps - not the goal, yet she was one of the great hopes for the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. But even there, she fell in the combined slalom (after the first passage led them .63 seconds off the Olympic champion Janica Kostelic later ) and in the special slalom from.

Failures and injuries

In the following season 2002/03 was not much better and so was twelfth in the slalom in Maribor, their best finish in the World Cup winter. At the World Championships in St. Moritz in 2003 Sponring could surprisingly - for great workouts - go in the downhill at the start and justified their lineup with eighth place. In combination, they lay according to fifth place in the Combined Downhill on a medal, made ​​it in the slalom but again not to the finish. The end of February she fell on the second European Cup downhill in Tarvisio ( the first exit they had won ) and pulled a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus tear in his right knee to. So it turned out for the remainder of the season.

In the 2003 /04 season Sponring was again very good shape and ran seventh in the second slalom at Madonna di Campiglio to their second-best World Cup result. But this World Cup winter should end early: The then 20 -year-old crashed at the World Cup downhill in St. Moritz hard and suffered a torn ACL and collateral ligament tear in his left knee, and a dislocation of the right shoulder.

Her comeback was again postponed by a re-injury (cartilage fracture of the left femur ), which they had caught in the giant slalom in Soelden training in September 2004. The end of December they began again with the racing and played some very successful FIS and European Cup races and two slalom at the World Cup, where they took place 21 in the points in Santa Caterina. In the European Cup they won four races in three different disciplines and reached number four in the European Cup overall and downhill standings, this was Austrian Champion in the downhill.

Before the season 2005/ 06 the violation devil struck again: Sponring crashed in November the giant slalom training in Sölden and tore the cruciate ligament in his time right knee.

Comeback and resignation

Her comeback they celebrated the beginning of the 2006/07 season with 17th place in the slalom in Levi. End of January, then followed the first podium places: In San Sicario they drove in their first World Cup Super -G with start number 36 to number three and confirmed this performance two days later with a third place in the second super -G. Thus, she qualified for the Austrian Super - G-Team at the World Championships in Åre, where it ranked 16 in the race after a serious error. At season's end, they still won two European Cup downhills and a super combined and secured by winning the downhill score a fixed place for the next World Cup winter.

But even in the 2007/ 08 season was Sponring not spared from injury. After the super-combined of St. Anton went up again for eighth place, she drew in a fall at the FIS giant slalom in Kaprun a hamstring behind the knee and a bone marrow edema to and fell for three weeks. In early February, she celebrated at the speed races in St. Moritz their comeback a week later they reached the Super G in Sestriere tenth.

In September 2008, Sponring hurt again: She fell in the giant slalom training in Zermatt and suffered a cruciate ligament sprain and a cartilage fracture. Thus, they could in the 2008 /09 season incur no World Cup races.

Finally she gave on 8 January 2009 with 25 years of their withdrawal from the alpine ski racing known. The reason they called lack of motivation after the re serious knee injury in September. Sponring played from December 2000 to March 2008 65 World Cup races and achieved three podiums. Overall, she suffered six serious injuries within five and a half years.

Sporting successes

Olympic games

  • Salt Lake City 2002: excreted in slalom and combined

World Championships

  • St. Anton 2001: 2 combination, 12th slalom
  • St. Moritz 2003: 8 Departure
  • Åre 2007: 16 Super -G

Junior World Championships

  • Quebec 2000: 3rd exit, 8 Slalom
  • Verbier 2001: 1st Slalom, Giant Slalom 4
  • Tarvisio 2002: 9 Slalom, Giant Slalom 23

World Cup

  • 3 podiums, another 5 placings in the top ten

European Cup

  • Season 2000/ 01: 6th overall, 3rd slalom rating
  • Season 2004/ 05: 4th overall, 4th exit rating, 6 Super -G standings
  • Season 2006/ 07: 6th overall, 1st exit rating, 3 Super Combination Evaluation
  • 14 podiums including 12 victories:

Other successes

  • 3 times Austrian Champion ( combination 2000, Slalom 2001, departure 2005)
  • 5 - time Austrian national champion youth (departure 2000, 2001, 2002, 2000 Super -G, Giant Slalom 2000)
  • 10 victories in FIS races (4 x Slalom, Giant Slalom 3 x 3 x Super -G)

Awards (excerpt)

  • 2001: Silver Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria
Super-G Slalom skiing Alpine skiing combined FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2001 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships 2007 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2008 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2003 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup Weerberg 2001 Alpine Skiing World Cup Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 2005 Alpine Skiing World Cup Santa Caterina di Valfurva 2006 Alpine Skiing World Cup Levi, Finland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2007 Pulled hamstring 2009 Alpine Skiing World Cup Elbigenalp Ravascletto Italy Abetone Roccaraso
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