Germany's former exceptional ski racer Rosi Mittermaier is dead. The family of the two-time Olympic champion confirmed this to the sports information service and the Bavarian radio on Thursday.
Mittermaier had "slept peacefully with the family" on Wednesday after a serious illness, she was 72 years old.
Mittermaier leaves behind her husband Christian Neureuther (73), also a former ski racer, their children Ameli (41) and Felix Neureuther (38) and their grandchildren.
Son Felix won several World Championship medals as a slalom specialist and ended his active career almost four years ago.
Daughter Ameli works as a fashion designer.
Mittermaier made her international debut in the 1966/1967 season, her most successful winter would follow ten years later.
At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, she won gold in the downhill and slalom, as well as silver in the giant slalom.
At the time, these successes also counted as World Cup medals, and the Alpine World Ski Championships were integrated into the Winter Games.
Here Mittermaier also won the title in the non-Olympic combination.
She also won the overall World Cup this winter, and Mittermaier retired at the end of the season at the age of 25.