Elisabeth Maier

Elisabeth Maier (née Vathje) (born March 17, 1994, in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian skeleton racer. In 2008, she was encouraged to try sliding sports by her father, who had shared an airplane trip with members of the Canadian luge team, but as a 14-year-old, she was too young to train bobsleigh, so she tried out for skeleton instead.[1] She uses a Bromley sled.[2] Vathje was named one of the three women to represent Canada in skeleton at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang[3] after finishing third in the World Cup season standings for 2017–18.[4] She is married to Austrian bobsleigh driver Benjamin Maier.[5]

Elisabeth Maier

At the 2017/2018 World Cup race in Lake Placid
Personal information
Born	March 17, 1994 Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1]
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight	72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st)[1]
Spouse(s)	Benjamin Maier (m. 2018)
Website	skellyelisabeth.com
Sport
Country	Canada
Sport	Skeleton
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	9th (Pyeongchang 2018)
Medal record Women's skeleton Representing  Canada World Championships 2015 Winterberg Women Junior World Championships 2014 Winterberg Women World Cup 2014–15 Calgary Women 2015–16 Whistler Women 2016–17 Winterberg Women 2014–15 Lake Placid Women 2014–15 Igls Women 2014–15 St. Moritz Women 2017–18 Lake Placid Women 2017–18 Winterberg Women 2017–18 Igls Women 2017–18 St. Moritz Women 2017–18 overall Women

Notable results

Vathje's first international race was on the North American Cup in 2010, at Lake Placid, where she finished 8th. The following season, she finished 16th in her first Junior World Championships and continued to race on the North American circuit, taking her first international gold at Lake Placid in 2013. Vathje was promoted to the Intercontinental Cup during the 2013–14 season, and won a silver medal at her fourth Junior Worlds in Winterberg, Germany, earning her a promotion to the World Cup squad.[2][1]

In the 2014–15 World Cup season, her first on the top level of international sliding, Vathje had five podium finishes including one gold medal, at Calgary, and three silvers, in Lake Placid, St. Moritz and Igls. She subsequently took home gold at races in Whistler (2016) and Winterberg (2017), as well as several additional podium finishes.[2]

Vathje finished the 2017–18 season with 1470 points, ranking third, her best season in the overall World Cup rankings.[4]

References

1. "Elisabeth Vathje (athlete profile)". Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
2. "Elisabeth VATHJE". International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
3. "Canadian bobsleigh and skeleton athletes nominated for 2018 Olympic Winter Games" (Press release). Canadian Olympic Committee. January 24, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
4. "Standings (2017/2018) (Women's skeleton) (BMW IBSF World Cup)". International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
5. "Elisabeth Vathje and Benjamin Maier celebrate wedding on Hawaii" (Press release). International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-14.

External links

• Elisabeth Maier at the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation