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- Date of birth: 3. February 1975 in Linz
- Nationality:
Austria
- Residence: Innsbruck, Austria
Sailnumber: AUT-123
- Education: Studies of Pharmacy,
-
still ongoing studies of Medicine
- Occupation: student, semi-professional windsurfer
-
part time journalist for travel and sport magazines
- Languages: German, English, French, Spanish
- Windsurfing and Snowboarding since:
1991
- Snowboard Career: 1993-2000
- Competing in PWA Worldtour since:
2001
- Discipline: Waveriding
Other interests: surfing, skiing, snowboarding, biking, hiking, climbing, photography,
traveling, writing, reading, cooking, good conversations, doing spontaneus crazy things...
- Credo:
- "Be honest and respect others
and yourself."
- "Do what you love - and love
what you do!"
- "Face your fears and live your
dreams - even if they can change sometimes!"
-
Sponsors: Lorch Boards, Ezzy Sails, O´Neill, Dakine, Camaro,
Bolle Sunglasses
-
- Biggest successes:
- snowboarding
- ISF European Champion 1996 (Halfpipe)
- Three 1st places ISF-Worldcup
Halfpipe
- Participation at the Olympic
Wintergames Nagano 1998
- windsurfing
- TOP 5 Ranking PWA Windsurfing Waves
2005
- 5th place PWA Worldcup Wave, Guincho
2007
Some words about me: I was born in Linz, a town in „Upper
Austria“, in 1975. As a child I was already pretty restless and addicted to every
kind of sports. Gymnastics, skiing, horseriding... Although my parents were not the most
sportive ones, I got every kind of support from them. When I was 15 years old I started
snowboarding and windsurfing and I immedialty fell in love with these sports, although I
was not aware yet, that they would dominate my life in the later future.
As long as I did not have a driving license I spent a lot of time camping at the
Lake Neusiedler where I got to know all the people from the Austrian windsurfing scene,
with whom I had so much fun! When I finished my secondary school graduation at the age of
eighteen, I moved to Austrias capital of wintersports, Innsbruck. I wanted to start my
studies there, but these plans got postponed for several years...
1993 I was competing in some snowboard-competitions just for fun. Snowboarding
was growing very fast those days. When I won the Austrian championships in Halfpipe and
Overall, I got offered my first contract to compete in the International ISF-Worldprotour.
This was when my snowboard career from 1993-2000 started. I had the great opportunity to
travel all around Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, and to make a living out of it. My
biggest success for sure were the title in the European Championships in 1996 and the
participation at the Olympic Wintergames 1998 in Nagano, Japan, when snowboarding for the
first time ever became a discipline at the Olympics.
But I have to say that my big, big love was still
Windsurfing. I had the chance to earn enough money with snowboarding to
finance my first big journeys to the Canaries, Maui and Australia. Every summer, when I
put my snowboard in the cellar, I was on the road
as well searching for wind and waves. Just in 2000, when I was really successful again in
snowboarding and when I constructed my first Womans pro model halfpipe board with my
sponsor, I had a big knee injury. So unfortunately
I could not really promote my board. The recovery took a lot of time and it made me stop
competing in snowboarding. But injuries also have their positive sides.
So I finally started my studies in pharmacy
and three years later in medicine.
During
the last years I already got to know many people form the PWA scene, who convinced me to
compete. When my knee was fine again, I finally had the courage to make my dream come true
to participate in some windsurfing competitions. My first contest was on Maui with big,
big waves. I just loved it. So since 2003 I was taking part at nearly all of the PWA
freestyle and wave comeptitions. Although I have to say that windsurfing is not quite a
sport where you can earn money as a girl - especially if you are from Austria. That seems
to be impossible unfortunately, as the market is not big enough here in Austria and the
national support goes mainly only to wintersports...
It takes a lot of idealism for sure, to invest my own money for competitions, although I
am in the Top 5 of the world in waveriding. But my motto is to live my dreams at the
moment, not to postpone them. I also want to finish my studies soon! And finally I am
getting close. My goal for the future is to be able to combine my love for all kind of
sports - windsurfing, skiing and snowboarding with my work in medicine and to still have
some time to travel. Maybe that's a bit unrealistic, but first we have to have the goals
in our heads to be able to fulfill them, right?
Competition-wise I am now focusing on the waveriding discipline only. This is my
big, big addiction! The happiest moments for me are when I get connected with nature.
Moments when I feel the power and force of the water, the waves, the wind and the
mountains. This defines for me the completion of freedom!
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