"Rosi is always there. She's with me every second"
Germany's skiing icon Rosi Mittermaier died a year ago. The "Gold-Rosi" was one of Germany's most popular winter sportswomen, and not just because of her successes over the decades. She is still present in her family today, especially with her husband Christian Neureuther.
Rosi Mittermaier has found her final resting place. She is buried in the shadow of the mighty Königsstand in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The 1453-metre-high mountain was one of her favorites. A year ago, Germany's skiing icon died after suffering from cancer. The country was deeply saddened by the fate of the 72-year-old, who had enchanted so many people in her lifetime. As a star who was not one. As a person who embraced those around her with positive energy.
"There is no one who was more normal than her when it comes to such successes," ARD commentator Bernd Schmelzer, who knew Rosi Mittermaier well, told ntv.de after her death. "She was so unpretentious, so unpretentious, so selfless." And so she always thought of her family. "Take care of your father! The family is the center of everything!" her husband Christian Neureuther recently told her about his wife's message. As quiet as Rosi has become in public, she is still very present in her family. "She is with me every second. Rosi is always there, sometimes more, sometimes less," said Neureuther in October on "Talk im Schloss". The two have been in love for more than 55 years, 43 of which they spent together as spouses. And they still do. "I go for a run on the mountain every day, the run I always did with Rosi." It is "mentally beautiful to look up into the mountains."
Grateful for the "love and strength"
Her life, that was the snow, that was the slopes. Mittermaier grew up on the Winklmoosalm, where her parents had an inn with a ski school. At the age of three, Rosa-Katharina felt the narrow boards beneath her for the first time, and in 1965 she became part of the national team. Mittermaier loved her time on skis like no other. "For me, pure skiing is still the most beautiful thing there is and where my heart will always open," the icon once said. But she also felt particularly at home in the narrowest forest of poles, the slalom. Like her husband Christian Neureuther, like her son Felix, for whom she always remained a caring mother. And always will be to some extent. She was now "a star up there" for him. Even ten months after her death, he still felt a deep sense of gratitude "to have experienced her love and strength".
The winter of 1975/76 was Rosi Mittermaier's winter. It was a winter in which there was still real snow and skiing was not a battle of equipment. It was the winter that turned Germany into an Alpine nation - on the slopes and on TV. Especially in February 1976, when the Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck and the girl from Reit im Winkl dominated the competition. Gold surprise in the downhill, gold in the slalom, silver in the giant slalom. She had already beaten the competition in the World Cup. In a flash, she became the first sports pop star. "A room in my parents' house was full of post and parcels. In one month, 27,000 letters arrived, the letter carrier told us, he went crazy because he had to take the whole flood up to the Winklmoosalm," Mittermaier recalled on her 70th birthday.
"I can get through a lot, but that was crazy"
She celebrated eight of her ten World Cup victories in the slalom. In total, she stood on the podium 41 times - and celebrated her first overall World Cup triumph in 1976. It remained her only one, and a few days later she announced the end of her career. She quit at the age of 25, partly because of the immense hype. "When I think today that I endured all that, I can no longer imagine it," she once said: "I get through a lot, but that was crazy."
She was also a welcome guest on television. Especially during her son's successful years. Time and time again, she was a fan on the slopes - and remained the star she had become in 1976. The hype surrounding her always remained a mystery to her. She told the Münchner Merkur newspaper in 2016, on the 40th anniversary of her success: "It was madness. Madness. Totally crazy." To enjoy, the editor asked? Mittermaier shrugged her shoulders. "Of course it was nice." But she still didn't understand it: "I was mainly thinking to myself: Mei, I'd better go home. It's not all that important." Mittermaier remained an approachable star, approachable, modest, she always had a kind word. The fact that she remained the nation's "Gold Rosi" for decades had a lot to do with the fact that she was always who she was. Friendly. Helpful. Social.
This text already appeared in part as an obituary on January 4, 2023
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Despite her retirement from competitive alpine skiing, Rosi Mittermaier's love for the sport never waned. She often accompanied her son, Felix, to his races and remained a supportive presence in his career.
Rosi Mittermaier's legacy in Winter sports is not merely limited to her own accomplishments. Her son, Felix, has also carved out a successful career in alpine skiing, carrying on the family's tradition in Winter sports.
Source: www.ntv.de
