Markus Wasmeier

Markus Wasmeier (born 9 September 1963 in Schliersee, Bavaria, Germany) is a former alpine ski racer.He was world champion and twice Olympic champion.
At the 1985 World Championships at Bormio, Italy, he won the Giant Slalom at age 21, before recording a World Cup victory. Since March 2nd, 1973, when Max Rieger could win the World Cup Giant Slalom at Mont-Sainte-Anne (as the first, a male German Racer to win a Giant Slalom race in the World Cup) no other male racer of Germany could achieve a win in a Giant Slalom Race. Wasmeier could achieve it in the 1985 World Championships, and he did it once more in the 1994 Winter Olympics. He couldn't be victorious in Giant Slalom Races in the World Cup – no male racer of Germany could – until Felix Neureuther's win at Adelboden on January 11th, 2014.
Wasmeier is the son of a so-called »Lüftlmaler« (it is not easy to translate because it is a Bavarian idiom, maybe known in Bavaria and the Tyrol in Austria; you may say it is an art form of facade painting) and restorer. When Markus was two years old he did ski at the first time, being five years old, he did win his first race (a race for preschool children). In 1977 he could achieve the first German title as a Champion in the Giant Slalom for young upcoming racers. After school years, he had an apprenticeship as painter and varnisher. His first World Cup Race was on February 5th, 1983, when he became 49th in the Downhill Race at St. Anton am Arlberg. He could gain World Cup Points at first time by capturing place 10 in the Alpine Combined at Garmisch-Partenkirchen on January 29th, 1984, and on December 11th, 1984, he could achieve a podium (Giant Slalom at Sestiere). When falling in the Downhill Race on February 28th, 1987, at Furano he did break two vertrebas and had to stopp 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 events at Morzine, France.
After the win of the Super-G Race at Val-d'Isère on January 11th, 1988, he was a hot favourite for that discipline at the 1988 Winter Olympics, but (Lummy!) he came out of the course in Nakiska on the first gate (on February 21st). In the Downhill Race he could gain the sixth place. As well he did remain without a medal in the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1989 by gaining 5th in the Super-G and in the Alpine Combined. In general, as well the season 1988-89 as 1989-90 did take a disagreeable course (the better one was 1988-89 by gaining three second and one third place, while in the other one he had to be content with only one 11th place, which he could gain in the Alpine Combined at Kitzbühel on January 13th, 1991). But the German Ski Federation did confide in him and did dispatch him in the FIS Alpine World Championships at Saalbach. Wasmeier did continue his poor performance and could only gain as 13th in the Super-G Race on January 23rd, and 24th in the Downhill Race on January 27th. - Therefore it was a great surprise when he could win the World Cup Super-G Race on March 17th at Lake Louise.
In the season 1991-92, he could consistantly work out positions in the Top Ten, and he did win the World Cup Downhill Race at Garmisch-Partenkirchen on January 11th, 1992. In the 1992 Winter Olympics he became a favourite for the Downhill Race because he could show an excellent performance in the trainings. In the race on February 9th, he did start with bib number 2 (behind winner Patrick Ortlieb with bib number 1) and his time was good enough until bib number 14 (Günther Mader). The bronze-medal did become clearer – but Franck Piccard (bib number 23) did gain the second place, therefore Wasmeier had to settle with place 4. In the Alpine Combined (February 10-11 th) he did capture the 5th place. In the Super-G (February 16th) he became ninth, in the Giant Slalom (February 18th) he didn't finish.
One week before the start of the season 1992-93 he had a crash with a trainer and did suffer a malleolar fracture and a cerebral concussion, but only one month later he was able to start and to achieve several places in the Top Ten, but in general, his achievement wasn't to be calculated to be able to live it up in the FIS Alpine Skiing Championships 1993. After finishing 14th in the Alpine Combined, he had a good chance in the Giant Slalom Race (it was held on two days, 9-10th February, because bad weather conditions) - being fourth after the first leg, but at last he could only catch the 9th place. In the Downhill Race on February 11th, he was down placing 35th (with a difference of 3.72 seconds behind gold medalist Urs Lehmann). Maybe, it was unluck for him that the Super-G-Race had to be cancelled because the bad weather conditions. He could gain his season best result by becoming fourth in the World Cup Super-G on February 28th at Whistler Mountain. And it wasn't at first when he did compete in the final race on March 28th, a Slalom at Åre (finishing 14th), but (excepting slalom races in the Alpine Combined) it maybe that he did compete in a „Special Slalom Race“ six years before.
Because his results in the first months of the season 1993-94 were substandard, he was no favourite for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and – by becoming only 36th in the Downhill Race – that estimation was right. But on February 17th, he did start an brillant series of success - his greatest achievement was double gold medals in both Giant Slalom and Super-G at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.His victory in the Super-G by 0.09 seconds denied the silver medalist, downhill champion Tommy Moe of the U.S., of double gold in the speed events on his 24th birthday. Win of the Giant Slalom Race on February 23rd also was "by a hair's breadth" (with the small difference of 0.02 sec. to silver medalist Urs Kälin).

The surprising result of double Olympic gold for Wasmeier at age 30 gained him the title of "Sportsman of the Year" in Germany (awarded in December 1994; therefore Wasmeier became the first male ski racer of Germany gaining him that title). He also was awarded with the »Silbernes Lorbeerblatt«, an honoring by the German Government (literally to translate as "laurel leaf in silver").

Season standings

Season titles

Individual races

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

After retiring from competitive skiing, Wasmeier founded the farm and winter sport museum Bauernhof- und Wintersportmuseum Schliersee on May 1st, 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 1993-94 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.

He is married since 1991, his wife Brigitte is a South Tyrolian.

• "Old Bavarian Village, Schliersee". Retrieved 19 February 2014. 
• Jahr, Jonica. "Ein Mann, der mit dem Herzen denkt!". 
• "The DO School Advisors". Retrieved 19 February 2014.