Maria Isser (22 October 1929 – 2011) was an Austrian luger who competed during the early 1950s and early 1960s. She won five medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with two golds (Women's singles: 1957, 1960) and three silvers (Women's singles: 1955, 1959; Men's doubles: 1955). Her silver in the men's doubles event in 1955 with her brother Josef was the first time a woman ever won a medal in a men's event at a World Championships, Winter Olympics, or European Championships until the debut of a mixed team event at both the European and World Championships in the late 1980s. In the 1958 World Championships, the silver and bronze pairs from Poland included one woman each.
At the European championships, Isser won six medals in the women's singles event. This included four straight golds (1952–1955), one silver (1956), and one bronze (1951).
Famous quotes containing the word maria:
“He reproduced himself with so much humble objectivity, with the unquestioning, matter of fact interest of a dog who sees himself in a mirror and thinks: there’s another dog.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)