Markus Wasmeier (; born 9 September 1963 is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Germany. He was World champion and two times Olympic champion.

Career

At the 1985 World Championships at

Bormio Bormio (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellina valley, it is a popular winter sports resort. It was the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he won 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 ...

at age 21, before recording a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

victory. Born in Schliersee,

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 ...

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 ...

, Wasmeier's first World Cup Race was on 5 February 1983, when he finished 49th in the downhill Race at St. Anton am Arlberg. He gained his first World Cup points in January

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

by capturing 10th place in the Alpine Combined at

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

, and that December, he achieved his first podium in (Giant slalom at

Sestiere A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

). In a downhill race in February

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

at Furano,

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, he broke two vertebrae and missed the rest of the season. Wasmeier won a total of nine World Cup races, starting with two victories on 9 February 1986, in the Combined and

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

events at

Morzine Morzine (; ), alternatively known as Morzine-Avoriaz (), is an alpine commune on the Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located in the French-Swiss Chablais historical ...

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. The surprising result of double Olympic gold for Wasmeier at age thirty gained him the title of 1994 "Sportsman of the Year" in Germany,

World Cup results

Season standings

Season titles

Individual races

9 wins (2 DH, 6 SG, 1 K)

World championship results

Olympic results

After racing

After retiring from competitive skiing, Wasmeier founded the farm and winter sport museum Bauernhof- und Wintersportmuseum Schliersee on 1 May 2007, and he has remained its curator and patron ever since. The museum provides insight into traditional Bavarian peasant life and aims to preserve old traditions by communicating them to coming generations. In 2009, Wasmeier shared his passion for building restoration and preserving tradition with an international group of young people through his involvement with the D&F Academy (now The DO School). Wasmeier worked with an international group of young people to restore a 17th-century farmhouse in the German Alps utilizing original materials, traditional tools, wood-crafting and handicraft techniques. He remains involved with the DO School as an advisor and supporter. From 1993 to 1994, he was a commentator for the German Television Broadcaster ARD until 2007 and from 2008 until 2014. He is a consultant in the German Skiing Federation since 2000. Married since 1991, his wife Brigitte is a

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

ian.

References

External links

*
Markus Wasmeier
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wasmeier, Markus 1963 births Living people People from Miesbach (district) Skiers from Upper Bavaria German male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for West Germany Olympic alpine skiers for Germany Olympic medalists in alpine skiing FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany 20th-century German sportsmen