Christa Zechmeister (born 4 December 1957 in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

) is a German former

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

and the youngest person ever to win 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 concept i ...

race, as well as the youngest to stand on the podium. A

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

specialist, she won seven World Cup races, taking the slalom title for the 1973-74 World Cup season.

World Cup career

Zechmeister made her World Cup debut in the 1972-73 season, scoring her first podium finish at Heavenly Valley, California on March 22, 1973 at the age of 15 years, 3 months, 18 days. The following season, she won the opening slalom race, held at

Val d'Isere Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...

on December 8, 1973 — four days after her 16th birthday. Zechmeister was dominant that season, winning four slalom races en route to the discipline title.

Major championships

Zechmeister competed in two

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, ...

(

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

) and one

Winter Olympic Games 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 he ...

(

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

). Her best result was a 7th-place finish in the slalom at Innsbruck in 1976.

External links

sports-reference.com
1957 births Living people People from Berchtesgaden Sportspeople from Upper Bavaria Olympic alpine skiers of West Germany Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions German female alpine skiers 20th-century German women {{Germany-alpine-skiing-bio-stub