FIS Welcomes Alexandra Meissnitzer To The President’s Office

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is further strengthening its administration with the appointment of former Alpine skiing champion Alexandra Meissnitzer to the President’s Office.

Meissnitzer will take on the role of managing special projects within the President’s Office, starting 1 September 2025.

A highly decorated athlete, she enjoyed an outstanding sporting career with two World Championship titles and three Olympic medals. Following her retirement from professional sport, she established herself as a respected expert commentator with Austrian broadcaster ORF.

In her new role, Meissnitzer will help to strengthen the sport and its global promotion, drawing on her unique experience as both a world-class athlete and a professional who has been in the skiing and snowboarding business for decades.

"Alexandra is a true champion, both on and off the slopes. Her sporting achievements speak for themselves, and she also brings excellent communication and media expertise. She will make an important contribution to FIS as we continue to strengthen our organization for the benefit of athletes and the global skiing and snowboarding community." said Johan Eliasch, FIS President.

Alexandra Meissnitzer (born 18 June 1973) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Her specialities were the downhill, super-G, and giant slalom disciplines. From Abtenau, Salzburg, her father, Hans Meissnitzer, a mechanic by trade, taught her to ski at an early age.

Alexandra “Meisi” Meissnitzer graduated from the Skihandelsschule Schladming and began training for a career as a police officer. But by 1989 she was a two-time Austrian Junior Champion and at the 1992 World Junior Championships won a silver in downhill and bronze in Super-G. 

At the 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano, Meissnitzer won the silver in the giant-slalom and the bronze in the super-G, and at the 2006 Winter Olympics at Turin she won the bronze in the super-G. In 1999, she won the overall World Cup, to which she added the super-G and giant slalom World Cups for the same season. She also won two world titles (super-G and giant slalom) at the 1999 World Championships. A serious training crash in November 1999, she missed the remainder of the season. At the 2003 World Championships, she won the silver medal in the downhill race (in a tie with Corinne Rey-Bellet) behind Melanie Turgeon.

Meissnitzer was third in the super-G at the 2008 World Cup finals in Bormio, Italy, and became the oldest woman (age 34) to finish on the podium in an alpine World Cup race.

She was Austrian Sportswoman of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and in 1998 was given a gold medal for services to the Republic of Austria. After her competitive retirement, Meissnitzer has done commentary for ski racing on television.