Christa Zechmeister

Christa Zechmeister (born 4 December 1957 in Berchtesgaden) is a German former alpine skier and the youngest person ever to win a World Cup race, as well as the youngest to stand on the podium. A slalom specialist, she won seven World Cup races, taking the slalom title for the 1973-74 World Cup season.

World Cup career Zechmeister made her World Cup debut in the 1972-73 season, scoring her first podium finish at Heavenly Valley, California on 22 March 1973 at the age of 15 years, 3 months, 18 days. The following season, she won the opening slalom race, held at Val d'Isere on 8 December 1973 — four days after her 16th birthday. Zechmeister was dominant that season, winning four slalom races en route to the discipline title.

Major championships Zechmeister competed in two World Championships (1974 and 1978) and one Winter Olympic Games (1976). Her best result was a 7th-place finish in the slalom at Innsbruck in 1976.