Heidi Biebl, the first German skier to win an Olympic gold medal in the downhill, has died at the age of 80 ©Getty Images

Heidi Biebl, the first German skier to win Olympic gold medal in the downhill, has died at the age of 80, it has been announced.

Her death, last Thursday (January 20), was revealed by her club, Ski Club Oberstaufen.

The Bavarian was only 19 when she caused a major upset at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley.

The event had been thrown open by the absence of the defending Olympic champion, Switzerland’s Madeleine Berthod, and Canada’s world champion Lucille Wheeler, who had retired the previous year.

The 19-year-old Biebl seized the opportunity on an 1,828 metres course at the United States resort with a starting elevation of 2,447m with a vertical drop of 553m in a race notable for being the first Olympic downhill in which crash helmets were mandatory following the death in 1959 of Canadian John Semmelink.

She finished exactly one second ahead of the silver medallist, the United States’ Penny Pitou.

Biebl was representing the United Team of Germany, which included athletes from both the West and East side of the Berlin Wall.

As East Germany had introduced its own national anthem in 1949, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 melody to Schiller's Ode an die Freude ("Ode to Joy") was played for winning German athletes as a compromise.

"I didn't even know it was the national anthem," Biebl admitted several years later.

"No one told us that."

Heidi Biebl's victory at Squaw Valley 1960 was celebrated the rest of her life, particularly in her hometown Oberstaufen ©Ski Club Oberstaufen
Heidi Biebl's victory at Squaw Valley 1960 was celebrated the rest of her life, particularly in her hometown Oberstaufen ©Ski Club Oberstaufen

Biebl was greeted by huge crowds upon her return home to Munich airport and Oberstaufen.

She was offered a watch by a ski company as a reward but because she already had one, Biebl instead accepted an offer of 350 marks for driving lesson.

West Germany honoured Biebl with the Silver Laurel Leaf, and the German Ski Association (DSV) gave her the Badge of Honour.

Biebl missed another Olympic medal at Innsbruck 1964, coming fourth in both the slalom and downhill.

Two years later, in 1966, she ended her active career at the age of only 25 after a row with the DSV.

Following her career, Biebl became a ski instructor and ran a health resort.

Biebl remained a huge hero in Oberstaufen for the rest of her life.

She received the community ring of honour, which only three people can wear at the same time, on her 60th birthday.

For her 70th, the Heidi Biebl Walk was unveiled, with a sign describing her Olympic victory.