Portrait: Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, the exceptional athlete
(Mirja Geh photography)
Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was the first to jump over 200m at Kulm in 2004, successfully took part in the first Olympic Games for the ladies winning the silver medal, she is World-Champion and Austrian champion and also found her private happiness with her long-time girlfriend. They are registered as life partners as same-sex couples in Austria don't have the right for marriages.
Daniela Iraschko-Stolz is a model-athlete and an exceptional athlete at the same time. She was born on the 21st of November 1983 in the Steiermark. Her sports club is WSV Eisenerz. She gained her first experiences in ski jumping in 1995.
Her first ever COC experience came in 2002, when she travelled to Iron Mountain, USA. She reached the 36th place twice on the large hill. Back then in 2003, she celebrated 6 victories in the FIS-Cup before she entered the COC again and immediately took the highest step on both competitions in Park City, USA. 2005 marked the year, when she totally left the FIS-Cup to be a consistent member of the COC-team.
(source: Daniela's facebook)
In the first World-Championships for the ladies in 2009, she was able to reach the 4th place and 3 years later she grabbed her first World-Champion title in Olso. In the first ever WC-season of the ladies, she became 2nd in the overall with 2 individual victories.
Until today she celebrated a total of 21 individual podiums in the World-Cup, 75 podiums in the COC, as well as 7 victories in the World-Cup and 40 in the COC, making her -along with several national titles- the best female Austrian ski jumper ever.
She also won the Universiade in 2005 and 2007, as well as the EYOF once. Additonally she was overall winner of the COC twice.
Her most incredible result was definitely the silver medal in the first Olympic Winter Games for the ladies in Sochi in 2014!
After she had to quite her 2014-season earlier because of an injury of her meniscus in the left knee, she is back at the highest level this season, which she already proved with th 2nd, 2nd, 4th, and 8th place, as well as last week's 1st and 1st place n the World-Cup in Oberstdorf! That makes 4 individual podiums in 6 competitions- what a success, as it is not beaten by anyone (but equaled by Sara Takanashi)! Besides she owns the yellow bib!
Besides, she is also plays soccer – and this on such a professional level that she is goalkeeper for her club FC Wacker Innsbruck, which is one of the clubs in the Austrian national soccer league! With her team she became vice-champion twice and made it into the Cup-final three times.
However, she also found the time to start her apprenticeship to become a consummate athlete in the federal police force.
(Mirja Geh photography)
She claims her favorite hills to be Vikersund, Stams and Oslo.
Her idol is Martina Navratilova, one of the most famous tennis players of all time, who Iraschko-Stolz doesn't only see as a sportive idol.
Daniela Iraschko-Stolz is, where she loves to be – a top athlete in a sport with rising attention. During her career, ladies ski jumping got a World-Cup, the right to be part of the World-Championships as well as the Olympic Games and also grabbed live coverages by notable TV stations. And after all successes she already celebrated, she doesn't think of quitting – and we're happy about it as it is a real pleasure to see her jump!
