Maya Pedersen-Bieri facts for kids
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| Birth name | Maya Bieri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 November 1972 (age 52) Spiez, Switzerland |
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| Height | 162 cm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 58 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Maya Pedersen-Bieri (born on November 27, 1972) is a famous skeleton racer. She was born in Spiez, Switzerland. Maya has competed for both Switzerland and Norway.
Skeleton is a winter sport where athletes slide head-first down an icy track on a small sled. It's very fast and exciting! Maya Pedersen-Bieri is known for winning a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
She first retired from the sport in 2010. But she made an amazing comeback in 2016, competing for Norway. Her husband and coach, Snorre Pedersen, is from Norway. When she returned to the top level in 2017, she became the oldest woman to start a World Cup skeleton race.
Maya is married to Snorre Pedersen and they have two daughters. They live in Øyer, near Lillehammer, Norway.
Contents
Maya's Amazing Achievements
Maya Pedersen-Bieri was one of the best skeleton athletes in the world. She achieved many great things before her first retirement in 2010.
World Championship Wins
Maya won the FIBT World Championships twice. She took home the gold medal in the women's skeleton event in 2001 and again in 2005. These championships are very important in the sport.
At the 2007 World Championships in St. Moritz, she won two more medals. She earned a silver medal in the women's skeleton race. She also got a bronze medal in the mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team event. In 2009, she won another silver medal in the mixed team event.
Olympic and World Cup Success
Maya became the European champion in 2006, also in St. Moritz. She also won the overall Skeleton World Cup title in the 1997-1998 season. This means she was the top-ranked racer for that entire season.
She competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, finishing in fifth place. Maya took a break from racing in the 2007-2008 season because she was on maternity leave. She returned strong for the 2008-09 Skeleton World Cup. In her first race back in Altenberg, Germany, she finished third. Maya also qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics, where she finished ninth before retiring.
Her Comeback for Norway
In 2016, Maya Pedersen-Bieri decided to start competing again. This time, she raced for Norway. She competed in smaller races like the Continental Cup and Intercontinental Cup. Her best result was a third-place finish in Park City.
She also represented Norway at the IBSF World Championships 2017 in Königssee. In the 2017–18 season, she returned to the main World Cup circuit. She finished 19th in the European Championship race held in Igls.
Images for kids
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Maya Pedersen-Bieri, a Swiss-Norwegian skeleton racer.
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The Olympic rings, a symbol of the Olympic Games.
