Elisabeth Kirchler
Elizabeth " Lisi " Kirchler ( born November 17, 1963 in Schwaz, Tyrol) is an Austrian former alpine skier. She counted in the 1980s, the most successful racers of the Austrian Ski Federation. Kirchler reached in all disciplines, with the exception of the slalom podium in the World Cup and won in four World Cup races. At the World Championships in 1985, she won the silver medal in the giant slalom, the same year she was elected Austrian Female Athlete of the Year.
Biography
Kirchler comes from Lanersbach ( Tux ), belonged to the Winter Sports Club Tux and attended the Skihandelsschule Stams. Successes in youngsters is celebrating the former Tyrolean provincial squad runner among other things, in 1977 with a victory in the giant slalom of the Trofeo Topolino on Monte Bondone. End of the 1970s she was included in the squad of the Austrian Ski Federation ( Austrians ). In the season 1979/1980 she finished each ranked second in the downhill and giant slalom standings of the European Cup. She was also sixth in the downhill of the European Junior Championship 1980 in Madonna di Campiglio. Their inclusion in the Austrian national team followed in winter 1980/1981 the first start in the World Cup. After winning in the departures of Pfronten, Crans -Montana and house in the Enns Valley with rankings to rank ten first World Cup points, celebrated the then 17 -year-old on March 6, 1981 her first World Cup victory when they exit from Aspen by a margin of five hundredths of a second on the German Regine Mösenlechner decided for themselves. Kirchler was thus at this time the youngest winner of a World Cup downhill. The Downhill World Cup, she finished her first season in ninth place.
Four top - 10 finishes get the Zillertalerin in their second World Cup winter of 1981 / 1982. In addition to the exit she could now also the first to score in the giant slalom and in the combination. My best result was fifth place in the combination of Pfronten. Top 10 results achieved Kirchler also in her first major event, the 1982 World Cup in Schladming / House in Enns: It was sixth in the downhill and eighth in the giant slalom. For total successful World Cup season was for the then 19 -year-old already the winter of 1982 / 1983. She celebrated on 8 December 1982 in the combination of the criterion of the first snow in Val d'Isere their second World Cup victory and let the third follow on January 22, 1983 in the departure of Megève. With further three podium finishes in two runs, and a combination as they reached each best Austrian in fourth place in the overall World Cup, third place in the downhill World Cup, finished second in the Combined World Cup and ninth in the giant slalom World Cup. That same winter, they also won their only Austrian Championship title when she decided in Schwarzenberg the giant slalom national title fights for himself.
Also in the season 1983/1984 Kirchler was the most successful Austrian World Cup starter, although she did not quite measure up to their previous year's results. She stood in one each departure, a combination and for the first time in a super -G on the podium, but remained without a win. She fell back to tenth place in the overall World Cup, eleventh place in the downhill World Cup and sixth place in the Combined World Cup. Only in the giant slalom World Cup, which at the time also the Super -G races were counted, they could be improved to seventh place. At the season's peak, the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Kirchler remained as almost the entire Austrian team with no greater success. Their only result was the ninth place in the downhill, giant slalom she divorced in the first round of.
On December 21, 1984 Kirchler in the departure of Santa Caterina celebrated her fourth and final World Cup victory. In addition, she managed while just another place on the podium in second place of the giant slalom of Saint- Gervais- les- Bains, but she won six times a fourth place. This enabled it to both the overall World Cup and in the discipline ratings slightly improved ( 7th overall, 5th exit and the sixth in giant slalom and combined ), with which she was most successful Austrian again. This time Kirchler similar success with the highlight of the season a top result: She won at the World Championships 1985 in Bormio - the ladies races were held in Santa Caterina - behind the US-American Diann Roffe the silver medal in the giant slalom. Started in the World Championships for Kirchler did however not as desired: First, she was eliminated in the combination in the first slalom passage ( according to number eight in the combination of departure), they arrived in the special descent in which they previously counted after their World Cup victory six weeks to the favorites had only to twelfth place. At the end of the winter Kirchler came in the departure of Sunshine Village ( Banff ) heavy crash, where they suffered injuries in the knee.
After this injury showed Kirchler, who was elected in 1985 to Austria's sportswoman of the year, not the constancy of recent years. Although they scored again top rankings, but podium places remained the exception. Such reach her only twice, as the second super-G of Megève on 25 January 1986 and again in second departure from Vail on March 13, 1987. During the season 1986/1987 she reached in eighth downhill World Cup for the last time a top 10 place in a discipline standings. Disappointing the 1987 World Championships in Crans -Montana, where they failed in both the giant slalom and Super-G. In the World Cup downhill it was not used.
Towards the end of her career Kirchler focused primarily on the disciplines of downhill and super -G, in which they remain gained placements among the fastest ten. At the beginning of the season 1987/1988 she missed as a Fourth of departure from Leukerbad a renewed podium by only three hundredths of a second. At the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary in 1988 - the venue for the skiing competitions Nakiska was - she won in the downhill as the second best Austrian eighth place, while she was in the Super- G in the victory of Sigrid Wolf 15. With the three top- 10 finishes in the first few months of the season 1988/1989 she was also for the World Cup 1989 qualifying in the downhill in Vail. There, they did not come on the 22th square. In the World Cup Kirchler thereafter remained without points, with the end of winter they announced at the age of 25 years her resignation. After the end of her career Kirchler was for a time worked as a newspaper columnist. She now lives with her husband, the restaurateurs Armin Riml, Solden. The couple has three children.
Achievements
Olympic games
- Sarajevo 1984: 9 Departure
- Calgary 1988: 8 exit 15 Super -G
World Championships
- Schladming / House 1982: 6 downhill, giant slalom 8
- Bormio / Santa Caterina 1985: 2 Giant Slalom, Downhill 12
- Vail 1989: 22 Departure
World Cup
- 2nd place in the Combined World Cup 1982/1983
- 3rd place in the Downhill World Cup 1982/1983
- 4th place in the Overall World Cup 1982/1983
- 5th in the Downhill World Cup 1984/1985
Other successes
- Austrian Champion in Giant Slalom 1983
- 2nd place in the downhill and giant slalom standings of the European Cup 1979/1980
- 6th place in the departure of the Junior European Championship 1980