Annemarie Moser-Proll grew up in Kleinarl in the Pongau and became the greatest female alpine skier of her era, winning six World Cup overall titles before Olympic gold at Lake Placid in 1980. When she retired, she went home and ran the family guesthouse.
The Story
Annemarie Moser-Proll was born in Kleinarl, a village in the Pongau district of Salzburg State, in 1953. She grew up in the alpine landscape that would become her racing arena, and by her late teens she was already competing at the highest level of the World Cup circuit.
Between 1971 and 1979 she won six World Cup overall titles, a run of dominance in the downhill discipline that was essentially without equal in women's alpine skiing. Her combination of fearlessness and technical control on the fastest courses in the world made her nearly unbeatable in her peak years. The Olympic gold, which had eluded her through two Winter Games, finally came at Lake Placid in 1980, when she took the downhill title.
At the height of her fame she retired and returned to Kleinarl to run the family guesthouse. That decision, choosing the Pongau mountains over the international circuit, made her something more than a sporting champion. She is an Austrian national hero who never lost her Salzburg roots.