Background
Born in Rauris, Salzburg, where her father ran a ski school, Maier won the Super-G gold medal at the World Championships in both 1989 and 1991.
Born in Rauris, Salzburg, where her father ran a ski school, Maier won the Super-G gold medal at the World Championships in both 1989 and 1991.
She also took home the giant slalom silver medal in the 1991 event. Her first of five World Cup wins came in November 1992 and she had 21 podiums 59 top ten finishes in her World Cup career. Two weeks prior to the 1994 Winter Olympics, the women"s World Cup was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in late January.
The downhill on the classic Kandahar course at Garmisch Classic was held on Saturday, January 29, following an overnight snowfall.
In a narrow part of the lower course less than twenty seconds from the finish, Maier"s right ski caught an inside edge at 105 km/h (65 mph), possibly from a patch of soft snow, and caused a violent crash which broke her neck. She died of her injuries shortly after being evacuated to the hospital in nearby Murnau.
At the of age 26, she had considered retirement at the end of the 1994 season, due to a dip in form that resulted in disappointing performances at the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games and the 1993 Morioka Shizukuishi World Championships. However, she had bounced back by winning two giant slaloms during the 1994 season and claiming podium finishes in the two Super Gs of Cortina.
Following these results, she was reconsidering her decision in the days before the fateful downhill run, planning to continue until the 1995 World Championships in Spain.
Unlike most other fatal skiing accidents, her crash happened during a live television broadcast. Initially it was claimed that her death was caused by hitting a wooden timing post. Based on that claim, Maier"s fiancé Hubert Schweighhofer criticized the organizers of the race and filed suit against them.
However, several months later the court found that Maier actually did not hit the timing post with her head, but probably broke her neck by crashing into a pile of snow on the border of the race course.
The court did not find any negligence from the organizers and dismissed the suit. Manslaughter charges against two FIS race officials were dropped after a settlement was reached in 1996.
Season standings
Race podiums
5 wins: (2 SG, 3 GS)
21 podiums: (8 SG, 10 GS, 1 SL, 1 Personal, 1 K).