Irene Mitterstieler

Irene Mitterstieler ( born August 6, 1974 in Bolzano ) is a former Italian Naturbahnrodlerin. She won two World Cup races and reached in the 2004/2005 season in third place in the World Cup. In the 2003 World Cup and the European Junior Championships in 1994, she won bronze medals.

Career

Mitterstieler took off in 1990 at the European Junior championships. After she had just missed in the years 1992 and 1993, twice in fourth a medal, she won in 1994 in Langenfeld behind Sonja Steinacher and Sandra Mariner the bronze medal. In winter 1995, she reached the last time discharged European Cup in Olang behind Elvira woodcutter second place. At World and European Championships Mitterstieler was the first time in 1993 at the start and reached in the following years most placements in midfield. She was at her debut at the European Championships in 1993 in Stein an der Enns Eighth and the World Cup 1994 in Gsies sixth. After they had not participated in the European Championships in 1995, she took seventh place at the World Championships in 1996 in Oberperfuss.

In a World Cup race Mitterstieler drove for the first time on February 4, 1996, Laces, in the fifth race of the season 1995/ 1996 when third on the podium. After more podiums were initially failed, and she was not even started in the years 1997 and 1998 at the World and European Championships, she celebrated two years later, on 8 February 1998, Slovenian Železniki her first World Cup victory. A week earlier, she had not qualified within the strong Italian teams to participate in the World Cup. The World Cup season 1997/1998 she graduated with a second place at the final in Mölten. The following season, 1998/1999 Mitterstieler celebrated on 24 January 1999 Agordo their second World Cup victory. In the other races of the season they scored placements between fifth and eighth place, which they first came in the World Cup in fifth place among the top six. At the European Championships in 1999 in Szczyrk, she finished fourth, but missed the medal ranks relatively clear with a gap of around 1.7 seconds to the third-placed Christa Gietl.

In the next years top results remained from the World Cup and several times she could within the Italian team is not one of the four World Cup starting places which are due to each national association per race, qualify. Also in World and European Championships, she was from 2000 to 2002 not at the start. Things started back in the 2002/2003 season, in which they first drove back regularly in World Cup races into the top five and finally the bronze medal behind Sonja Steinacher and Yekaterina Lawrentjewa won at the 2003 World Cup in Železniki on February 8. A week after the World Cup she scored at the end of the season in the World Cup as third of the finale in Olang her first podium finish in four years, making it fifth in the World Cup for the second time. The next winter Mitterstieler was, however, only two of the six World Cup races at the start, they finished fourth and fifth in the squares. At the 2004 European Championships in Huttau she finished only 13th place.

Successful was the season 2004/2005. In the first World Cup race of the winter to Mitterstieler had not qualified for a starting place, but in the other five races of the season they went three times on the podium. She was second in Unterammergau and each third party in Oberperfuss and Latzfons, thus reaching the overall World Cup behind Renate Gietl and Yekaterina Lawrentjewa third place. At the World Championship 2005 in Laces Mitterstieler was after the first championship round still in the lead, drove in the second and third run, however, only the eight - or sixth- fastest time and was thus in the final ranking to sixth place back. In the team competition, she was together with Martin Psenner, Günther Innerbichler and Alex Innerbichler Fifth. After this winter, she ended her career because of a pregnancy.

Achievements

World Championships

  • Gsies 1994: 6 seater
  • Oberperfuss 1996: 7 seater
  • Železniki 2003: 3 seater
  • Laces 2005: 6 seater, 5 team

European Championships

  • Stein an der Enns 1993: 8 seater
  • Szczyrk 1999: 4 seater
  • Huttau 2004: 13 seater

European Junior Championships

  • Železniki 1990: 8 seater
  • Kandalakscha 1991: 6 seater
  • Rod 1992 4 seater
  • Rautavaara 1993: 4 seater
  • Length field 1994: 3 seater

World Cup

  • 3rd place in the single-seat World Cup in the 2004/2005 season
  • 2x 5th place in the overall World Cup single-seater in the seasons 1998/1999 and 2002/2003
  • 8 podiums, including two victories:

European Cup

  • 2nd place in the single-seater 1995
Italy Elvira Holzknecht FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1993 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1994 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1996 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1999 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2004 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2005
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