MEISSNITZER Alexandra (AUT) Web: 18.06.1973 Abtenau 165cm / 59kg SKI: Voelkl BOOTS: Tecnica BINDING: Marker '98,Lake Louise DH '99 Sierra Nevada Final GS Crans Montana 98 GS / 1st 1999 World Cup Overall Champion St.Moritz WM03 DH/2nd 1999 Overall, GS, SG, Champ. World Cup Ranking General 1992/98th, 1993/90th, 1994/76th, 1995/23rd,　1996/5th, 1997/19th, 1998/5th, 1999/1st, 2000/-, 2001/16th, 2002/15th, 2003/8th, 2004/8th, 2005/16th, 2006/9th, Special 1998:DH/8th, SG/11th, GS/3rd, 1999:DH/2nd, GS/1st, SG/1st. 2001 DH/21st, SG/12th, GS/13th, 2002 SG/2nd, GS/12th, DH/43rd. 2003 DH/10th, SG/4th, GS/7th. 2004 DH/10th, SG/7th, GS/7th. 2005 SG/6th, DH/21st, GS/27th. 2006 DH/6th, SG/2nd, GS/26th. World Championships 1996 Sierra Nevada DH/16th, SG 23rd 1997 Sestriere DH/17th, SG/13th 1999 Vail/Beaver Creek DH/4th, SG/1st, GS/1st. 2001 St.Anton DH/11th, SG/8th. 2003 St.Moritz DH/2nd, SG/5th, GS/DNF. 2005 Bormio/S.Caterina. DH/22nd, SG/DNF. Olympic games 1998 Nagano DH/8th, SG/3rd, GS/2nd. 2002 Salt Lake City GS/4th, SG/4th. 2006 Torino. DH/8th, SG/3rd. World Cup 14 w.(2 DH, 7 SG, 5 GS) 1. DH: Veysonnaz 99-II, Sierra Nevada 99, SG: Val d'Isere 96, Veysonnaz 96, Lake Louise 99, Val d'Isere 99, Megeve 04, Altenmarkt 05, Lake Louise 06, GS: Crans Montana 98, Park City 99, Val d'Isere 99, Cortina 99, Are 99-I, 2. DH: St.Anton 96-II, SG: St.Anton 99, Altenmarkt 02, Cortina 03-II, Innsbruck 03-I, Lillehammer 03, Are 05, val d'Isere 96, Bad Kleinkirchheim 06, GS: Park City 98, Val d'isere 98, Soelden 99, Semmering 99, Park City 03, 3. DH: St.Anton 96-II, Altenmarkt 98, Lake Louise 99-I, 06-I, Val d'Isere 06, SG: Garmisch 96, GS: Val d'Isere 96, Lillehammer 96, Bormio 98-I. Maribor 99, Val d'Isere 03, Sestriere 04, P : Tignes 98, Mammoth Mtn. 98, 4. DH: Vail 97-I, Veysonnaz 99-I, Lake Louise 06-II, SG: Flachau 95, St. Moritz 99, Cortina 01, Innsbruck 03-II, Aspen 06, St. Moritz 06, GS: Are 02, 5, DH: Lake Louise 98-I, 99-II, St.Moritz 01-II, Lake Louise 03, 04-II, SG: Cortina 03-I, Haus 04, GS: Cortina 02, K: St.Anton 99, 6. DH: Cortina 96-I, Lillehammer 96, St.Anton99, St.Morutz 99, Lake Louise 04-II, Veysonnaz 04, SG: Val d'Isere 96-II, Altenmarkt 98, Mammoth Mtn.99, Cortina 99-I, 05-II, GS: Veysonnaz 96, Bormio 98-II, Are 98, Bormio 03, Park City 04, It's a kind of dream-season that Alexandra Meissnitzer achieved during the 1998/99 winter. The Austrian from south of Salzburg won eight World Cup races in three events on her way to her first Overall trophy as well as two gold medals at the FIS World Championships in Vail, Colorado, in GS and Super-G. Seven years after she entered the National Ski Team, "Meissi" was finally able to fully express her potential. An Olympic medal winner in GS and Super-G in Nagano, the skier from Abtenau gained great confidence towards the end of the previous season when she won the last GS at the finals in Crans-Montana. She had to wait over two years on this success: a double winner in Super-G in December 1995, Alexandra went through difficult times during the following winters after injuring herself at a foot in February 96. She couldn't make the top-10 at the 1996 and 1997 FIS World Championships in Sierra Nevada and Sestriere. The arrival of Karl Frehsner, the former head coach of the strong men's Swiss team, helped her to find back her momentum. A very hard worker when she trains, Meissnitzer improved her basic technique in practicing more GS than before. This effort paid off in 1998: she finished four times among the top-3 before her success in Crans-Montana. Then she reached again the podiums in the first seven World Cup GS of the 1998/99 season. A very aggressive skier on demanding course, Alexandra doesn't enjoy to ski on the flat or easier slopes since she is not such a good glider. Very found of all kinds of sports including soccer, the Austrian studies to become a policewoman. Her best friend on the tour is America's Picabo Street who tough her to be tougher with herself and her entourage. Alexandra Meissnitzer not only fulfilled her wildest dreams during the 1998/99 season but joined an elite group in her home country. Meissnitzer is the fifth Austrian skier to win the women's Overall World Cup title since its inception back in 1967. Along the way she won eight World Cup races in GS, Super-G and Downhill. "Meissi" added to her collection by taking gold at the 1999 World Championships, in GS and Super-G, at Vail. The 26-year-old from Abtenau, south of Salzburg, has been on a roll since 1998. At Nagano, she captured two Olympic medals in GS and Super-G before winning the last GS of the season at the World Cup finals in Crans-Montana. It was sweet revenge for her after a disappointing 1996/97 winter with mediocre results on the World Cup and a poor performance at the FIS World Championships in Sestriere. The Austrian star burst onto the scene in 1995 by winning two Super-G races in December and finished on the podium in two downhills. But Meisssnitzer severely twisted her ankle during the FIS World Championships at Sierra Nevada. She raced despite the pain but didnt finish in the medals. Alexandra had her bad ankle surgically repaired but it took almost year before she was back in top racing form.. The arrival of a new head coach in the team, Karl Frehsner, also helped her get motivated again. She trained hard to improve her technique and became a solid GS specialist in 1998. Frehsner, already a very successful team director with the Swiss in the 1980's, is convinced that Alexandra has not yet reached all her potential. He praised her passion for ski racing and her conviction while training, always looking to improve. Meissnitzers's father, Hans, is the coach of the local ski club. He put her on skis at 2 years old and always supported her. Fond of all kinds of sports, Meissnitzer is also a fine football (soccer) player. Patrick Lang Biorama Basel