Maria Gasslitter in an interview with SportNews. © Private

Like her mother once did: South Tyrol's new Olympic hope

Petra Moroder has taken part in the Winter Olympics three times, she has a silver medal at the World Championships and has been on the podium seven times in the World Cup. 27 years after the mogul specialist ended her career, her daughter Maria is making her way to the top of the world. The 18-year-old freestyler spoke to SportNews about her career.

March 03, 2025

From: leo

The name Maria Gasslitter appears for the first time on 10 January 2016 in the Tagblatt Dolomites. The then 10-year-old from Val Gardena won a VSS slalom in Maranza. Her career in the Alpine skiing ended when she was only in her third year of middle school, "because I just didn't like it anymore," she says. However, she didn't want to give up the sport completely, which is why her mother Petra gave her daughter the idea of ​​joining the freestyle club.

"I really enjoyed it from the start," says Gasslitter. Unlike her mother Petra, she was not drawn to the moguls, but to the freestyle park - on the one hand because the moguls discipline is almost extinct in Italy, and on the other hand because she felt comfortable on the jumps and rails from the start.

At home in the air: Maria Gasslitter © Private

Gasslitter quickly began to compete against the competition in South Tyrol as part of the Raiffeisen Slopestyle Tour, before also taking part in national competitions. "I realized that I could improve and compete at the top. That ultimately gave me the incentive to pursue this professional path," explains Gasslitter.

Her success proves her right, as she has shone in the shadow of child prodigy Flora Tabanelli this season. She took part in eight European Cup races, won five of them and only failed to make the podium once. "I knew I was in good shape and that it could be a strong season. But I didn't expect results like this," Gasslitter says.

School stress and lots of training

Unlike many of her fellow competitors, the youngster does not attend a sports school. Instead, she will take her Matura in July at the social sciences high school in Brixen. How does she manage to combine education and sport? "It is agreed that I can often be absent, but in return I have to take all the exams. Luckily, I have a friend who sends me all the material, otherwise it would not be possible."

Maria Gasslitter at the Oswald von Wolkenstein Ride. © Private

Gasslitter is not only rarely present at school in winter, but also at the stables. The freestyler's other great passion is horse riding. Last year, for example, she took part in the traditional Oswald von Wolkenstein ride. Races like this have helped her to cope better with the excitement of freestyle. "I can now control my nervousness at the start better. Instead of going into the race excited, I now look forward to what awaits me in the park," says Gasslitter. She finds horse riding to be an important counterbalance to freestyle - not least because the sports are completely different.

The South Tyrolean is currently preparing for the season finale with the B team in the freestyle mecca of Laax. This includes the World Championships in St. Moritz. Gasslitter, who has not yet had the opportunity to demonstrate her talent in a World Cup race, is hopeful of competing in the Engadine. "That would of course be wonderful, but I don't have any information on that yet," she stresses. Behind the aforementioned Tabanelli, she is currently Italy's best freestyler, so her chances of being nominated are not bad. Until then, she will try to continue her dominance in the European Cup and continue to work on her repertoire.