A Vancouver 2010 double for Maria Riesch

By winning Slalom gold at the 2009 World Championships, Maria Riesch of Germany fulfilled her prodigious talent and made herself one to watch at Vancouver 2010.

Riesch announced her talent with astonishing performances at the Junior World Championships between 2001 and 2004, winning eight medals in total, of which four were gold medals, each in different disciplines.

After gaining her first World Cup podium finish at St. Moritz in the 2004/2005 season, Riesch suffered several injuries which would hamper her progress for the next two years. As a result she did not compete in the 2006 Turin Games.

Riech returned to the World Cup podium with victory in the Downhill at Lake Louise in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2007/2008 that she truly re-established herself as one of the best all-round skiers in the world, winning two races, finishing third in the overall ranking, and taking the season titles in both Super-G and Combined.

Following another successful season in 2008/2009, which included four consecutive Slalom victories, Riesch arrived at the 2009 World Championships in Val d’Isère as favourite in that event, and duly won the gold.