Erika "Riki" Mahringer (later Spieß, born 16 November 1924) is an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n former alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 who competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics

1948 Winter Olympics

The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936...

 and in the 1952 Winter Olympics

1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...

. In 1948 she won the bronze medal in the slalom event as well as in the Alpine combined competition. In the downhill contest

Alpine skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics - Women's downhill

The women's alpine skiing downhill event was part of the alpine skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of the event. The competition was held on Monday, February 2, 1948....

 she finished 19th. Four years later she finished fourth in the 1952 Olympic downhill event

Alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics - Women's downhill

The women's alpine skiing downhill event was part of the alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event. The competition was held on Sunday, February 17, 1952 and started at 1 p.m.....

. In the same year she finished 17th in the giant slalom competition

Alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics - Women's giant slalom

The women's alpine skiing giant slalom event was part of the alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of the event. The competition was held on Thursday, February 14, 1952 and started at 1 p.m.....

 and 22nd in the slalom contest.

The Spiess family has been resident in Mayrhofen, and active in the tourism industry since 1954.

After their wedding in 1954, the famous Ski racer Erika "Riki" Mahringer and the successful ski racer Ernst Spiess, founded the Mayrhofen Ski School, and in 1955 the first children's Ski School in the world –
"Riki’s Skikindergarten".

Ernst Spiess, authorised mountain and ski guide, built in the 50's and 60's, a mountain tour programme based in Mayrhofen employing up to 12 mountain guides. In the early 80's, the ski school grew to employ over 170 ski instructors and was especially for the children's ski school, world famous. The children ( Nicola and Uli Spiess ) were both active in the ski school after the end of their international ski careers. Uli took over the leadership in 1987 and today shows his guests on special request the best ski slopes in the Ziller valley.