Barbara-Maria "Barbi" Henneberger (4 October 1940 – 12 April 1964) was an alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. She competed for the

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany () was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympic Games, Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes from a third ...

at the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

and

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

, and at the 1962 World Championships.

Ski racing

Born in

Oberstaufen Oberstaufen ( Low Alemannic: ''Schtoufe'') is a municipality in the district of Oberallgäu in Bavarian Swabia, Germany, situated on the B 308 road from Lindau to Immenstadt. History It is first mentioned as ''Stoufun'' in AD 868. Historically ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Henneberger competed in the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

at Squaw Valley at age 19. She won the bronze medal in the slalom, finished eleventh in the downhill, and 15th in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

. Henneberger was third in the combined, which earned a world championship medal. Four years later in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, she finished fifth in the downhill, seventh in the

, and tenth in the slalom. In

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

to model clothes after the 1963 season ended in Europe, Henneberger was not planning to compete at the U.S. Alpine Championships in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

at Alyeska in early April. Using borrowed skis, she won the downhill and slalom and finished second in the giant slalom.

Death

Following the 1964 season, Henneberger and a dozen others were in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

near

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

in April to film the promotional movie ''Ski-Fascination'' for

Willy Bogner, Jr. Wilhelm Hermann Björn Bogner Jr. (born 23 January 1942) is a German fashion designer, film maker and former Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. He inherited the Bogner clothing brand, originally set up as ''Willy-Bogner-Skivertrieb'' by his fathe ...

Caught in a spring

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

, she died at age 23 in Val Selin along with

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

racer Buddy Werner. Both had raced ahead of the first avalanche, but were caught by a second from an opposite slope. Found hours later under of snow, their deaths were attributed to suffocation, and were the only two fatalities in the group. Her funeral and procession in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

were attended by thousands. Bogner, 22, and Henneberger were to be engaged that summer; he was tried by a Swiss court for homicide by negligence. After Bogner was initially acquitted, the prosecution pursued an appeal and won a conviction for manslaughter by negligence, and Bogner received a two-month suspended sentence.

World championship results

From

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

through

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

were also the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

for alpine skiing.

Olympic results

References

External links

* * * * photos at Alpine Style 56 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henneberger, Barbara 1940 births 1964 deaths German female alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for the United Team of Germany Olympic bronze medalists for the United Team of Germany Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics Skiing deaths Sport deaths in Switzerland Deaths in avalanches Natural disaster deaths in Switzerland Winter World University Games medalists in alpine skiing FISU World University Games gold medalists for West Germany Competitors at the 1962 Winter Universiade Skiers from Swabia (Bavaria) People from Oberallgäu 20th-century German sportswomen