Anita Wachter (AUT)
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Eleven months after her accident, the racer from Schruns, in Vorarlberg, Austria, celebrated her 15th World Cup win — her first since '96. In the following weeks, she fought hard against her teammate Alexandra Meissnitzer for the lead in GS. Anita won three additional events and made it to the podium three more times. At the Vail World Championships, she led after the first GS run before settling for the bronze medal. It was Wachter's eighth medal in a major event since the Bormio Worlds in '85. But in all those races, she has only once won gold, at the '88 Olympics at Calgary.
Anita's greatest accomplishment so far in alpine ski racing was her success in the '93 Overall World Cup standings. She won that distinction at the World Cup finals at Åre, Sweden, after a tough battle against rising superstar, Germany's Katja Seizinger. Winner of a total of 18 World Cup events in four specialties, Wachter has finished in the top-10 a total of 10 times in Overall World Cup standings.
Wachter is truly tiny for a racer, only 50 kg, so she needs steep, icy runs to perform her best. Wachter also excelled in football (soccer) when she started racing, which helped improve her footwork and fitness.
Motivation is sometimes the biggest obstacle for Wachter, who will be 33 on February 12th, 2000. Her steady training and rebounds from injuries and health problems have been a constant challenge. Her boyfriend, Rainer Salzgeber, is also a veteran on the Austrian team. In 1993 they both won silver in GS on the same day at the FIS World Championships in Morioka, Japan.
— Patrick Lange, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent