Rosa Anna Katharina Mittermaier-Neureuther (; Mittermaier; 5 August 1950 – 4 January 2023) was a German alpine skier. She was the overall World Cup champion in 1976 and a double gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics.
Mittermaier competed in alpine skiing from 1967 to 1976, retiring after a highly successful season in which she finished with two Olympic gold medals and ranked first in the World Cup. She remained popular, advertising for sports and as a non-fiction writer. She was known as Gold-Rosi, and she was inducted into Germany's Sports Hall of Fame in April 2006 when it was initiated.
Life and career
Mittermaier was born in Munich and grew up in Reit im Winkl on the . A certified skiing instructor, he also owned a skiing school from 1966, and was the first to train his daughters.<!-- -->
Racing career
Mittermaier made her World Cup debut in the inaugural season of 1967, and won her first World Cup race two seasons later.
She won two gold medals (downhill and slalom) and one silver (giant slalom) at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. Her victory in the Olympic downhill was the only downhill win in her international career.
In addition to the overall World Cup title, she also won the season title in slalom and combined in 1976. After winning both races at Copper Mountain in Colorado to wrap up the overall and slalom titles, the four-year-old resort immediately named the race course run after her. In addition to her success in international competition, she also won 16 German national titles during her career.
After racing
After her career in sports, Mittermaier joined Mark McCormack's International Management Group as the only German alongside Jean-Claude Killy, Jackie Stewart, and Björn Borg. During her three-year contract, she designed a collection of winter sports clothing and made international appearances for various skiing products. She wrote non-fiction books, often together with her husband.<!-- They are the parents of Felix Neureuther (b. 1984), a World Cup ski racer for Germany, and daughter Ameli who works as a fashion designer.
Mittermaier died of cancer in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on 4 January 2023, at the age of 72 years. She is survived by her husband Christian, her two children, and (as of 2026) five grandchildren.
Her mortal remains were cremated and the urn was buried at the cemetery in Garmisch. Next to her gravestone - a rock, which bears the inscription "Rosi Mittermaier-Neureuther" and resembles a mountain - is a similar one without inscription, reserved for her husband.
Awards
- 1976 German Sportswoman of the Year
- 1999 Olympic Order
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! Season !! Age !! Overall !! Slalom !! Giant<br />slalom !! Super G !! Downhill !! Combined
|-
| 1967 || 16 || 27 || 19 || — || rowspan=10|<small>not<br />run</small> || — || rowspan=9 | <small>not<br />awarded</small>
|-
| 1968 || 17 || 12 || 11 || 8 || —
|-
| 1969 || 18 || 7 || 4 || 11 || 5
|-
| 1970 || 19 || 11 || 8 || 10 || 12
|-
| 1971 || 20 || 14 || 13 || 9 || 15
|-
| 1972 || 21 || 6 || 4 || 7 || 10
|-
| 1973 || 22 || 4 || bgcolor="silver" | 2 || 8 || 9
|-
| 1974 || 23 || 7 || bgcolor="silver" | 2 || 13 || 11
|-
| 1975 || 24 || bgcolor="cc9966" | 3 || 7 || 7 || 6
|-
| 1976 || 25 || bgcolor="gold" | 1 || bgcolor="gold" | 1 || bgcolor="cc9966" | 3 || 9 || bgcolor="gold" | 1
|}
<small>Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).</small>
Season titles
{| class="wikitable"
! Season !! Discipline
|-
| rowspan=3 align=center | 1976 || align=center | Overall
|-
| align=center | Slalom
|-
| align=center | Combined
|}
Race victories
- 10 wins – (1 GS, 8 SL, 1 K)
- 41 podiums – (4 DH, 11 GS, 22 SL, 4 K)
{| class="wikitable"
! Season !! Date !! Location !! Discipline
|-
| align=center | 1969 || align=right | 16 January 1969 || Schruns, Austria || align=center | Slalom
|-
| align=center | 1970 || align=right | 14 March 1970 || Voss, Norway || align=center | Slalom
|-
| align=center | 1973 || align=right | 2 February 1973 || Schruns, Austria || align=center | Slalom
|-
| rowspan=2 align=center | 1974 || align=right | 27 February 1974 || Abetone, Italy || align=center | Slalom
|-
| align=right | 8 March 1974 || Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia<!-- DO NOT LINK, see MOS:GEOLINK for further guidance --> || align=center | Slalom
|-
| align=center | 1975 || align=right | 13 December 1974 || rowspan=2 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy || align=center | Slalom
|-
| rowspan=5 align=center | 1976 || align=right | 17 December 1975 || align=center | Combined
|-
| align=right | 22 January 1976 || Bad Gastein, Austria || align=center | Slalom
|-
| align=right | 5 March 1976 || rowspan=2 | Copper Mountain, United States || align=center | Giant slalom
|-
| align=right | 6 March 1976 || align=center | Slalom
|}
World championship results
Source:
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! Year !! Age !! Slalom !! Giant<br /> slalom !! Super-G !! Downhill !! Combined
|-
| 1968 || 17 || DNF2 || 20 || rowspan=3 | <small>not run</small> || 25 || rowspan=3 | <small>not run</small>
|-
| 1972 || 21 || 17 || 12 || 6
|-
| 1976 || 25 || bgcolor="gold" | 1 || bgcolor="silver" | 2 || bgcolor="gold" | 1
|}
Publications
Many of her books were written with her husband Christian Neureuther: