Maria Hofl-Riesch German athlete, alpine skier Date of Birth: 24.11.1984 Country: Germany

Biography of Maria Hoefl-Riesch

Maria Hoefl-Riesch is a German athlete and alpine skier who quickly established herself as an incredibly talented sportswoman. Born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Maria displayed remarkable athletic abilities from an early age. She had a successful junior career, winning nine medals in various disciplines at the Junior World Championships, including five gold medals.

In February 2001, Maria made her debut on the World Cup circuit, and she also competed in the Junior World Championships, where she achieved impressive results. However, at the 2003 World Championships, Maria faced some setbacks and was only able to finish in the combination and downhill events, securing 5th and 17th places, respectively.

After the retirement of Martina Ertl-Renz and Hilde Gerg, Maria became one of the top racers in the German national team. However, injuries prevented her from participating in the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics. After recovering from her injuries, Maria returned to racing and quickly made up for lost time. In 2007, she won the downhill event at Lake Louise in Canada.

In the 2009 season, Maria won four slalom races in the World Cup, elevating her to second place in the overall standings. She also won a gold medal at the 2009 World Championships. The most successful year of her career was 2004 when Maria won three World Cup races and finished third overall. She repeated this achievement in 2008, but the 2009 season surpassed all her previous accomplishments.

In 2010, Maria had a remarkable performance at the Winter Olympics, winning gold in the super combined and slalom events. She also finished second overall in the World Cup rankings that year. The following year, Maria finally claimed the overall World Cup victory, beating three-time champion Lindsey Vonn by three points.

Maria was not only known for her impressive skiing achievements but also for her versatility in other sports such as tennis and cycling. Her younger sister, Susanne Riesch, is also a competitive alpine skier specializing in slalom.

On April 14, 2011, Maria married her manager, Marcus Hoefl, and changed her surname to Hoefl-Riesch. She continued to compete and achieved further success, including winning gold in the super combined event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, becoming a two-time Olympic champion in this discipline. She also won a silver medal in the super-G event.

In 2014, at the age of 29, Maria announced her retirement from professional skiing at the end of the 2013/14 season.