Erika Mahringer

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Erika “Riki” Mahringer was an Austrian alpine skier born in Linz on November 16, 1924. She competed in the 1948 and 1952 Winter Olympics. In 1948 she won bronze medals in the slalom and the Alpine combined, and finished 19th in the downhill. In 1952 she placed fourth in the downhill and also competed in giant slalom (17th) and slalom (22nd).

At the 1950 World Championships in Aspen, she won silver medals in both the slalom and downhill, and finished fourth in the giant slalom. She won six Austrian titles: downhill (1948, 1951, 1952), slalom (1951), giant slalom (1951), and Alpine Combined (1951). In 1951 she was named Austrian Sports Personality of the Year.

Mahringer married fellow skier Ernst Spiess in 1954. They founded the Mayrhofen Ski School, and in 1955 opened Riki’s Skikindergarten, the world’s first children’s ski school. Their children, Uli Spiess and Nicola Spiess, also became Alpine skiers.