Hanni Wenzel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hanni Wenzel

Alpine skier
Disciplines	Giant slalom, slalom, combined, downhill, super-G
Born	(1956-12-14) 14 December 1956 (age 68) Straubing, Bavaria, West Germany
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
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 Women's alpine skiing Representing  Liechtenstein World Cup race podiums Event 1st 2nd 3rd Slalom 11 11 10 Giant slalom 12 9 9 Downhill 2 0 3 Super-G 0 1 0 Combined 8 4 9 International competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 1 World Championships 4 3 2 Olympic Games Gold 1980 Lake Placid Giant slalom Gold 1980 Lake Placid Slalom Silver 1980 Lake Placid Downhill Bronze 1976 Innsbruck Slalom World Championships Gold 1974 St. Moritz Slalom Gold 1980 Lake Placid Combined Silver 1974 St. Moritz Combined Silver 1978 Garmisch Combined Bronze 1976 Innsbruck Combined

Hanni Wenzel (born 14 December 1956) is a famous retired Liechtensteiner alpine ski racer. She is known for being an Olympic, World Cup, and world champion. Hanni Wenzel made history by winning Liechtenstein's very first Olympic medal in 1976. Four years later, she won the country's first two Olympic gold medals!

Biography

Hanni Wenzel was born in West Germany in a town called Straubing. When she was young, her family moved to Liechtenstein. Both Hanni and her younger brother, Andreas, became very successful ski racers. Because of their achievements, their family was given citizenship in Liechtenstein.

In 1974, at the age of 17, Hanni won a gold medal in slalom and a silver medal in the combined event at the World Championships. She became the youngest female Alpine Skiing World Champion in slalom at that time!

At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Hanni won a bronze medal in the slalom. This was a huge moment for Liechtenstein, as it was their first-ever Olympic medal! She also earned another world championship medal in the combined event.

A Golden Year: 1980 Olympics

Hanni Wenzel had an amazing year in 1980. After winning the overall World Cup title in 1978, she truly shined at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, USA. She won two gold medals: one in the slalom and another in the giant slalom. She almost won a third gold, taking a silver medal in the downhill race.

At the same Olympics, Hanni also won a world championship gold medal in the combined event. Her brother, Andreas, also won a silver medal, which helped Liechtenstein rank high in the medal count for the games. In 1980, Hanni won nine World Cup races and took home the overall, giant slalom, and combined season titles. Her brother Andreas won the men's overall title, making it a Wenzel family sweep!

Hanni's daughter, Tina Weirather, has also become a successful ski racer. Tina won a bronze medal in the Super-G for Liechtenstein at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Later Career and Retirement

Hanni Wenzel was not able to compete in the 1984 Winter Olympics. This was due to rules about how athletes could receive money from sponsors. Another famous skier, Ingemar Stenmark, who also won two gold medals in 1980, faced the same situation.

Hanni retired from ski racing after the 1984 season. She finished her career with an incredible record: two Olympic titles, four World Championship titles, two overall World Cup titles, and 33 World Cup race victories. Until 1980, the Winter Olympics races were also counted as World Championships.

Liechtenstein has won a total of ten medals at the Winter Olympics. Eight of these medals were won by two sets of siblings: the Wenzel family (Hanni and Andreas) earned six, and the Frommelt brothers (Willi and Paul) earned two.

World Cup Achievements

Hanni Wenzel won 7 World Cup season titles during her career. These included:

• 2 overall titles
• 2 giant slalom titles
• 1 slalom title
• 2 combined titles

She had 33 World Cup race victories, including:

• 11 in slalom
• 12 in giant slalom
• 2 in downhill
• 8 in combined

In total, she stood on the podium 89 times in World Cup races!

World Championship Results

Hanni Wenzel achieved great success at the World Championships:

From 1948 to 1980, the Winter Olympics were also considered the World Championships for alpine skiing. The combined event was a "paper race" using results from other events.

Olympic Results

Hanni Wenzel competed in two Winter Olympics, winning four medals:

Family

Hanni Wenzel comes from a family of ski racers. Her sisters, Petra Wenzel and Andreas, also competed in the World Cup. She is married to Harti Weirather, an Austrian ski racer who was a world champion in downhill in 1982. Hanni and Harti now run their own sports marketing company. Their daughter, Tina Weirather, is also a World Cup ski racer, continuing the family's legacy.

Honours

• Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein (awarded on 06/09/2017).

Images for kids

• 

  The Olympic rings, a symbol of the Olympic Games.

See also

In Spanish: Hanni Wenzel para niños

• List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's race winners
• List of Olympic medalist families