Hannelore (Hanni) Wenzel[1] (born 14 December 1956) is a retired Liechtensteiner alpine ski racer. Wenzel is a former Olympic, World Cup, and world champion. She won Liechtenstein's first-ever Olympic medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and its first two Olympic gold medals four years later in Lake Placid, New York.[2][3][4]
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| Born | 14 December 1956 Straubing, Bavaria, West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Giant slalom, slalom, combined, downhill, super-G | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 1 March 1972 (age 15) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | March 1984 (age 27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | wwp-group.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 2 – (1976, 1980) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 4 (2 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 5 – (1974–82) includes two Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 9 (4 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 – (1972–84) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 89 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 2 – (1978, 1980) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 5 – (2 GS, 1 SL, 2 K) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editBorn in West Germany at Straubing, Bavaria, Wenzel moved to Liechtenstein at an early age. After she and her younger brother Andreas had success in ski racing – Hanni won the gold medal in slalom and silver in the combined at the 1974 World Championships – the family was granted Liechtenstein citizenship. Winning the slalom title on 8 February 1974, she did become the youngest female Alpine Skiing World Champion in the slalom discipline (17 years, 1 month, 25 days) - ousting Esme Mackinnon who was the first female Alpine Skiing Champion in 1931; the British racer was 17 years, 2 month and 17 days young when she was victorious in the slalom race on 19 February 1931. At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, she won the country's first Olympic medal, a bronze in the slalom at Axamer Lizum, and also picked up another world championship medal in the combined.
After winning the World Cup overall title in 1978, Wenzel's best year came in 1980. At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, she won gold medals in the slalom and giant slalom, and just missed out on a sweep by taking the silver in the downhill at Whiteface Mountain. She also easily won the world championship gold medal in the combined event, its final edition as a "paper race" and her fourth world championship medal in that event. At the same Olympics, her brother also won a silver medal, placing Liechtenstein high in the medal ranking of the games. In addition to her Olympic success, she won nine World Cup races in 1980 and captured the overall, giant slalom, and combined season titles, and brother Andreas won the men's overall for a Wenzel family sweep of the overall titles. Her daughter Tina Weirather won a bronze medal in Super-G for Liechtenstein at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Wenzel was banned from the 1984 Winter Olympics by the International Ski Federation (FIS) for accepting promotional payments directly, rather than through the national ski federation. Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden was also banned; both were double gold medalists in 1980.[5][6][7]
Wenzel retired following the 1984 season with two Olympic titles, four World titles, two overall World Cups, three discipline World Cups plus three combined titles, and 33 World Cup victories. (Through 1980, the Olympics were also the World Championships.)
Through the 2018 Winter Olympics, Liechtenstein has won a total of ten medals at the Winter Olympics, with eight won by two sets of siblings – the Wenzels earned six, while brothers Willi and Paul Frommelt are responsible for two more.
World cup results
editSeason titles
edit7 titles – (2 overall, 2 giant slalom, 1 slalom, 2 combined)
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Giant slalom |
| 1978 | Overall |
| Slalom | |
| 1980 | Overall |
| Giant slalom | |
| Combined | |
| 1983 | Combined |
Season standings
edit| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 15 | 40 | — | 27 | not run |
— | not awarded |
| 1973 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 1974 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 16 | ||
| 1975 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1976 | 19 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 6 | |
| 1977 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | not awarded | |
| 1978 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | ||
| 1979 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 1980 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | |
| 1982 | 25 | 19 | 9 | 14 | — | — | |
| 1983 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 5 | not awarded |
— | 1 |
| 1984 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
Race victories
edit| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 19 Dec 1973 |  Zell am See, Austria |
Giant slalom |
| 1975 | 21 Feb 1975 |  Naeba, Japan |
Slalom |
| 14 Mar 1975 |  Sun Valley, USA |
Slalom | |
| 1977 | 19 Jan 1977 | Schruns, Austria |
Combined |
| 1978 | 15 Dec 1977 |  Madonna di Campiglio, Italy |
Giant slalom |
| 10 Jan 1978 |  Les Mosses, Switzerland |
Giant slalom | |
| 22 Jan 1978 |  Maribor, Yugoslavia |
Slalom | |
| 24 Jan 1978 |  Berchtesgaden, West Germany |
Slalom | |
| 25 Jan 1978 | Slalom | ||
| 2 Mar 1978 | Stratton Mountain, USA |
Giant slalom | |
| 1979 | 12 Dec 1978 | Piancavallo, Italy |
Giant slalom |
| 3 Feb 1979 | Pfronten, West Germany |
Slalom | |
| 4 Feb 1979 | Combined | ||
| 8 Feb 1979 | Maribor, Yugoslavia |
Slalom | |
| 1980 | 8 Dec 1979 | Limone Piemonte, Italy |
Giant slalom |
| 14 Dec 1979 | Combined | ||
| 10 Jan 1980 | Berchtesgaden, West Germany |
Giant slalom | |
| 16 Jan 1980 | Arosa, Switzerland |
Giant slalom | |
| 21 Jan 1980 | Bad Gastein, Austria |
Slalom | |
| Combined | |||
| 23 Jan 1980 | Maribor, Yugoslavia |
Slalom | |
| 26 Jan 1980 |  Saint-Gervais, France |
Giant slalom | |
| 1980 Winter Olympics
| |||
| 25 Feb 1980 | Waterville Valley, USA |
Giant slalom | |
| 1981 | 27 Jan 1981 | Les Gets, France |
Combined |
| 8 Feb 1981 | Zwiesel, West Germany |
Combined | |
| 1982 | 12 Dec 1981 | Piancavallo, Italy |
Combined |
| 18 Mar 1982 | Furano, Japan |
Giant slalom | |
| 1983 | 30 Jan 1983 | Les Diablerets, Switzerland |
Combined |
| 1984 | 21 Dec 1983 | Haus im Ennstal, Austria |
Downhill |
| 22 Dec 1983 | Giant slalom | ||
| 14 Jan 1984 | Bad Gastein, Austria |
Downhill | |
| 15 Jan 1984 | Combined | ||
| 20 Mar 1984 | Zwiesel, West Germany |
Slalom | |
World Championship results
edit| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 17 | 1 | 7 | not run | 13 | 2 |
| 1976 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 11 | 3 | |
| 1978 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 29 | 2 | |
| 1980 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 25 | DNF | DNF | — | — |
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Olympic results 
edit
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 19 | 3 | 20 | not run | 11 | not run |
| 1980 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1984 | 27 | — | — | — |
- Wenzel and Ingemar Stenmark were banned from the 1984 Olympics (endorsement compensation).
Family
editWenzel is a sister of World Cup ski racers Petra Wenzel and Andreas Wenzel, and the wife of Austrian ski racer Harti Weirather, the world champion in downhill in 1982. Wenzel and Weirather run their own sports marketing agency, and their daughter Tina Weirather is also a World Cup ski racer.[4][8]
Honours
edit- Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein (06/09/2017).[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Alpine skiing: Weirather to miss Olympic Games through injury". Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). vancouver2010.com. 23 January 2010 - ^ Steamboat Today: Olympic history: Winter games in the 1980s. steamboatpilot.com/ 13 February 2010
- ^ Hanni Wenzel Archived 28 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games]
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Hanni Wenzel". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011.
- ^ "Ski stars banned from Olympics". Ottawa Citizen. Reuters. 26 November 1983. p. 71.
- ^ "Ruling slaps Stenmark". Bend (OR) Bulletin. UPI. 7 November 1983. p. D-4.
- ^ "Winter Olympics will take place without three alpine skiers". Palm Beach Post. wire services. 25 January 1984. p. D4.
- ^ "Hanni WENZEL". Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). fisalpine.com
External links
edit- Hanni Wenzel at FIS (alpine)
- Hanni Wenzel at Olympics.com
- Hanni Wenzel at Olympedia
- wwp-group.com – Weirather-Wenzel & Partner GmbH – (in German)
