Ulrike Maier

Austrian alpine skier Ulrike Maier participated in the 1988 Calgary and 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. She placed sixth in the giant slalom and tenth in the slalom event in 1988. Four years later Maier placed and unfortunate fourth in the giant slalom and fifth in the super G. In 1989 and 1991 she won the World Championships super G, and in the latter year also won the giant slalom silver.

Maier won five World Cup races in total and was runner-up in the overall competition in 1983. Maier was elected Sportswoman of the Year in Austria in 1989.

Maier tragically died at the age of 26 years in 1994 during a World Cup downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen being broadcast live on TV. She crashed and broke her neck and died from her injuries shortly after being taken to hospital in nearby Murnau, Germany. She had criticised the course before the Garmisch-Partenkirchen competition began saying it was dangerous. She had a four-year-old daughter, Melanie, with policeman Hubert Schweighofer, at the time of her death.