Nicola Spieß

Austrian Nicola Spieß came from an alpine skiing family; her parents Erika Mahringer and Ernst Spieß were Olympians, and her brother Uli also competed internationally. She missed the bronze medal in the downhill event at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics by only 0.21 seconds and came an unfortunate fourth. In the slalom she missed one gate and was disqualified on the first run. In 1975 and 1979 she was Austrian downhill champion.

Nicola Spieß later raised three children and became a prominent fighter for the rights of abuse victims in Austria, especially in the alpine skiing circus. She was reportedly raped at the age of 16 and suffered from bulimia after years. Spieß also edited the skiing magazine Kunstpiste (artificial ski slope).