Maëlle Ricker

Maelle Ricker Danica [ mɑ ː ɛl dænɪkə ɹɪkə ] ( born December 2, 1978 in North Vancouver ) is a Canadian snowboarder and Olympic champion. It starts in the disciplines of snowboard cross and halfpipe.

• 5.1 FIS Snowboard World Cup
• 5.2 World Championships
• 5.3 The Olympic Games
• 5.4 National

Maelle Ricker exercised other sports before moving to the professional snowboarding. She was active on skis in cross-country and alpine, next they played soccer and field hockey. Only her brother Jorli brought to snowboard. The age of six she started at first competitions. It has nearly one hundred in the World Cup races contested (as of end of 2008), launched twice at the Olympic Games and two -time medalist at the World Championships. Throughout her career, she suffered several serious knee injuries, but fought his way back again and again into the world elite. Her mother is a biology teacher, the father of a geologist. Ricker itself is snowboard instructor and lives in Whistler, British Columbia.

World Cup

Maelle Ricker has an outstanding record in the World Cup. For over a quarter of its launch they made ​​the podium, more than half of all starts, she finished in the top ten. With nine wins and seven second and third places it among the most successful female snowboarders in the World Cup.

Prior to 2002,

Initially Ricker entered in World Cup more at competitions in the halfpipe, this has shifted over time towards the snowboard cross. At its debut in December 1996 in Whistler Mountain as she drove Second straight to the podium and this season was down to two races always in the top ten, two times more than third on the podium. This brought her in the World Cup the thirteenth place in the discipline rating Snowboard Cross and tenth place in the halfpipe discipline rating third behind Tara Teigen and Sabrina Sadeghi. It was their best performance in the World Cup halfpipe discipline. Although the next season with only a third place - otherwise mostly ranked between ten and twenty - less successful, the final in fifth place was their biggest success at the Olympics until then. In the 1998/1999 season she played through injury only five races, including her first victory in boardercross at Whistler Mountain, in the following season 1999/2000 even only two, also in her native Whistler: both on the same weekend and both could win, once in the Cross and for the first time in the halfpipe. In the following season they got in late, with another victory in the boardercross in Kronplatz and eight top ten places she was still the thirteenth and fourteenth in the World Cup discipline ratings Cross and Halfpipe. Although in 2002 five times drove in six World Cup starts the season in the top ten, this year meant a major setback in her career. Due to a knee injury her was the chance to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games denied.

2002-2007

Also in 2003 was marked by injuries, despite a victory at the season opener at Valle Nevado. They occurred only four races - three World Cups and the World Cup - how in the preseason exclusively with halfpipe competitions. Nine World Cup starts in the next season of 2004 only brought two top ten results and meant a disappointing season for Maelle Ricker. Not much better it fared in the 2005 season, but the World Cup bronze medal World Cup improved the weak balance sheet with a third and a ninth place at turn nine starts. The 2005/2006 season began with two second places in Valle Nevado, another podium she managed for third place in Bad Gastein. A total of seven places in the top ten and fourth place at the Olympics meant a significant upturn, which manifested itself in excellent rankings in the World Cup. In addition to fifth place in the overall classification they had to discipline in World Cup Snowboard Cross only her teammate Dominique Maltais admit defeat, this second place was by then her best overall placement. Despite an injury that required a late season entry, remained Ricker in 2007 on the right track. After almost five years she succeeded again a World Cup victory in Furano in Japan and also in the discipline rating snowboard cross world cup she left behind third place with only seven races in a strong impression, they also became Eighteenth overall.

2008-2009

With the start of the snowboard World Cup 2007/2008 Ricker finally rose to the snowboard cross and celebrated the best World Cup season of her career, which culminated with winning the World Cup discipline in snowboard cross. In the overall World Cup they could repeat the fifth place in the 2006 season. The main reason for their triumph over Lindsey Jacobellis and Mellie Francon were next to three wins in Valle Nevado, Xingyu and Gujō their constant top rankings in just a failure in only nine starts. Three second and fifth place was the eleventh place in Valmalenco as opposed worst result. The 2008/2009 season began for Ricker in September with the third place finish in Chapelco (Argentina) and took eighth place in Arosa, 3rd place in Stoneham, 1st place at Sunday River and # 1 in Valmalenco their continuation. The World Cup season 2008/09, it concludes with the 2nd place from the discipline rating Snowboard Cross and 4th place in the overall World Cup.

Continental Cup, European Cup, Nor- Am Cup and South American Cup

Apart from the World Cup race started Ricker also in competitions of Kontintental cups. By 1997 this had succeeded in sporadic starts a victory in Big White and after two races in 1999, she joined in 2004 again with moderate success in this race series to. Occasional launches in 2005 and 2006 brought another victory in Big White. Unprecedented is their series since January 2007. In all eight starts since then she has been either first or second, five first and three second places to show their dominance.

World Championships

Shortly before the end of their first World Cup season Ricker took part in the World Championships FIS in San Candido in January 1997. She placed in the Snowboard Cross on the fourth rank, then their stronger halfpipe as she finished eleventh. In the last of the ISF World Championships in 1999 Ricker won the snowboard cross competition, beating Catherine stops su and Brigitte Köck. 2001 in Madonna di Campiglio, they went back at the FIS World Championships, but had the eighth or 34th in Cross and Halfpipe not the hoped for success. 2003 Kreischberg they renounced the boardercross and placed again with number seven on the top ten. Your second medal at World Championships (FIS ) won Ricker 2005 in Whistler Mountain back in boardercross, she stood as third on the podium next to Lindsey Jacobellis ( gold) and Karine Ruby ( Silver). This success is all the more surprising as it was her first race after knee surgery. In Arosa 2007 she succeeded again made ​​it into the top, with the fifth place they fell just short of a medal in snowboard cross, while they did not compete in the halfpipe. In the Snowboard World Cup 2009 Ricker was again in snowboard cross at the start and qualified in Hoengseong for the final. The podiums have made the new World Champion Helene Olafsen and the two Swiss citizens Olivia Nobs and Mellie Francon from among themselves for Ricker was only fourth place. Overall, it was also placed in the top ten seven times at the World Championships.

Olympic games

In an interview Ricker said: " I've been wanting to win one since I've been a little girl, even before I snowboarded. To win at Olympic medal would be priceless. ( I wanted to win a [ Olympic medal ] since I was a little girl, even before I went snowboarding. Winning an Olympic medal, would be priceless. ) "

In 1998 she qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano in the halfpipe. She finished fifth in the competition, the surprisingly Nicola Thost won. In the preparatory period for the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City to Ricker injured his knee and could not therefore take the elimination race. For this check, she said: " I'm pretty stubborn. It's a family trait Ricker ( I'm pretty stubborn. That runs in the family ), "and" I've wanted to be on Olympic medalist since I was pretty young. ( When I was very young, I wanted to be a medal winners at the Olympics. ) "The implementation they just missed 2006. At the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, she was able to advance to the finals of the snowboard cross, but crashed shortly after the start of the race, broke through the catch fence and was then unconscious. She suffered a concussion and spinal injuries. So they took fourth place behind Tanja Frieden, Lindsey Jacobellis and her compatriot Dominique Maltais.

Your dream of winning an Olympic gold medal Ricker finally was able to fulfill on their "House Hang" at the 2010 Winter Olympics in her native Vancouver. Although Ricker took as World Cup leader Lindsey Jacobellis had been traded as a big favorite before the games, but in the semifinals this failed to score and was fifth. Ricker, however, increased over the course of the competition. It came out in adverse conditions with fog and soggy piste qualifying after falling in the first round due to a good second run as a third party. After that, they certainly won their quarter-finals and defeated in the semifinals Jacob Ellis and the two Frenchwomen Deborah Anthonioz and Nelly Moenne - Loccoz.

In the final, she quickly developed a head start and sat down superior to Anthonioz, Olivia Nobs and the fourth place after falling world champion Helene Olafsen by. She is the first Canadian woman who made ​​it, at the Olympic Games in their own country which carry the Olympic gold medal, two days before Alexandre Bilodeau was the first Canadian freestyle ever to have managed.

Achievements

FIS Snowboard World Cup

World Championships

Olympic games

• 2010 - Gold Medal Snowboard Cross

National

• 3 × Canadian Champion