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

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medalist from

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. She competed for the

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

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 * Jan ...

and

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...

, 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 (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Henneberger competed in the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley at age 19. She won the bronze medal in the slalom, finished eleventh in the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

, and 15th in the giant slalom. 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 Patriarc ...

at Innsbruck, she finished fifth in the

, seventh in the giant slalom, and tenth in the slalom. In North America 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 ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

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 near St. Moritz 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 ski racer. He inherited the Bogner clothing brand, originally set up as ''Willy-Bogner-Skivertrieb'' by his father, Willy Bogne ...

Caught in a spring

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

, she died at age 23 in Val Selin along with

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

racer

Buddy Werner Wallace Jerold "Buddy" Werner (February 26, 1936 – April 12, 1964) was an American alpine ski racer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Early years Born and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Werner was the middle child of Ed "Pop" and Hazel ...

. 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 ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

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 through 1980, the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) 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 h ...

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

* * *
Barbi Henneberger
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 Universiade medalists in alpine skiing FISU World University Games gold medalists for West Germany Competitors at the 1962 Winter Universiade Sportspeople from Swabia (Bavaria) People from Oberallgäu