Hubertus von Hohenlohe explained

Hubertus von Hohenlohe
Disciplines:DH, SG, GS, SL, combined
Birth Date:2 February 1959
Birth Place:Mexico City, Mexico
Wcdebut:12 December 1981
Olympicteams:6 (1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2010, 2014)
Olympicmedals:0
Worldsteams:19 (1982, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Worldsmedals:0
Wcseasons:13
Wcpodiums:0

Hubertus Rudolph Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 2 February 1959; pronounced as /es/), commonly known as Hubertus von Hohenlohe, is a Mexican alpine skier, photographer, and businessman. He was previously a pop singer using the names Andy Himalaya and Royal Disaster. He is descended from the former ruling family of the historic principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg in what is now northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[1]

Life and family

thumb|left|200px|Coats of arms of the principality of Hohenlohe; 1: Holy Roman Empire; 2: unknown; 3: county of Hohenlohe; 4: county of Gleichen; 5: county of Langenburg.He is the second son of Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Ira von Fürstenberg. He was born in Mexico City, Mexico, where his father ran a Volkswagen factory. His maternal grandparents were Tassilo, Prince of Fürstenberg (1903–1987) and Clara Agnelli, and his maternal great-grandparents were Karl Emil, Prince of Fürstenberg (1867–1945) and the Hungarian Countess Maria Mathilde Georgina Festetics de Tolna (24 May 1881 – 2 March 1953). His grandmother is half Mexican.[2]

He lived in Mexico for the first four years of his life and then moved to Spain. He later studied in Austria and his main residence was in Vienna, where he worked as a photographer and artist. Although he has Mexican nationality, which makes him eligible to compete for Mexico, he only spends a few weeks per year there. He is fluent in several languages and grew up in Europe, mainly Austria.

He had a brother named Christoph (1956–2006) and has two half-sisters, Arriana Theresa, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 1975) and Désirée, Countess d'Ursel (b. 1980). Max von Hohenlohe, who competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics, was his uncle, and Prince Marco of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 19th Duke of Medinaceli, was his first cousin.

He acted as co-producer for Yello and Shirley Bassey's 1987 collaborative single "The Rhythm Divine".[3] He has work on display with the Art of the Olympians.[4] He hosts the travel show Hubertusjagd on Redbull TV.[5]

On 17 June 2019 in Vaduz, he married Simona Gandolfi,[6] cousin of the Italian skier Alberto Tomba.[7] He currently resides in Liechtenstein, of which he is also a citizen.[8]

Sports career

Hohenlohe founded the Mexican Ski Federation in 1981.[9] He first skied for Mexico at a Winter Olympics at the 1984 games in Sarajevo, and he managed to finish 26th in slalom. After the 1984 Winter Olympics, Hohenlohe managed to participate in 1988, 1992, and 1994 Games.[10] He qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, but the Mexican Olympic Committee decided not to send a one-man team to the Winter Games that year.

Hohenlohe has stated that the only reason why he continues to participate is because it seems that the "exotic skiers" (those from countries without a tradition in winter sports) are disappearing, and that he wants to keep that tradition alive.[9] Since 1982, he has participated in 15 World Championships and set a World Record. Hohenlohe was expected to retire following the 2007 Alpine Skiing World Championships, after breaking his leg during a World Cup slalom race on 28 January 2007, eliminating him from the competition in Åre.[11]

He came back to competition in 2009 and competed in his 12th World Championship, the 2009 Alpine Skiing World Championships.

He was the sole athlete in the Mexican team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He participated in two alpine skiing disciplines, the Men's Giant Slalom (78th) and the Men's Slalom (46th). At 51, he was the oldest athlete at the games.[12] He also competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics,[13] where he was Mexico's sole athlete again. He participated in slalom but did not finish after a fall during the first run.[14]

In 2015, he was joined by Sarah Schleper on the Mexican ski team, doubling its size,[9] at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships of that year.

Hohenlohe, affectionately called El Príncipe, mooted retiring for 2017,[9] but instead decided to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics.[15] Another two hopes for Alpine Mexico, aside from Hubertus, and Schleper, are Rodolfo Dickson and Jocelyn McGillivray. Additionally, three more hope to represent Mexico, Robby Franco in freestyle skiing, Sandra Hillen in snowboard and Germán Madrazo in Cross-country skiing.[16] [17] [18] [19] He failed to qualify for the 2018 Olympics, but designed the race suits for the Mexican alpine skiers.[20]

World Championships results

Hohenlohe participated at 20 editions of FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, from Schladming 1982 to FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2023, from the age of 23 up to 64.[21]

Year
AgeSlalomGiant
Slalom
Super-GDownhillCombined
23 26374147
26 264028
28 34565046
30 26516335
32 465651
34 424241
37 42736842
38 4162
40 DNF
42 55
44 6076
46 6038
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
64

References

Notes

External links

Notes and References

  1. He possesses dual citizenship in the country of his birth, Mexico, and in the country of his legal domicile, Liechtenstein. While Mexican law does not recognize nobility or hereditary titles, Liechtenstein recognizes both.
  2. News: Why Is a German Prince Skiing For Mexico? . https://web.archive.org/web/20100215235919/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1963932,00.html . dead . February 15, 2010 . Time . 2010-02-13 . 2010-05-22.
  3. Web site: Yello Featuring Shirley Bassey – The Rhythm Divine . . Discogs. 14 March 2016.
  4. Web site: Art of the Olympians | Hubertus von Hohenlohe.
  5. Web site: Hubertusjagd A hunt for the world's most fascinating places. Red Bull TV. en. 2019-03-13.
  6. Web site: EXCLUSIVA en ¡HOLA!: Las fotografías de la boda de Humbertus de Hohenlohe y Simona Gandolfi. 3 July 2019. 12 August 2019. 14 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220414023046/https://www.hola.com/actualidad/20190703145140/boda-humbertus-de-hohenlohe-simona-gandolfi/. live.
  7. Web site: Prince Hubertus zu Hohenlohe: Blue Hunter .
  8. News: Mexikos Skifahrer tritt in Sotschi als Mariachi an. N24 Nachrichten. 8 February 2014.
  9. Mariachi Man: Prince Hubertus and the Mexican ski team he helped create . Tik Root . 6 March 2015 . Sports Illustrated .
  10. News: Nigeria Has an Olympic-Level Bobsled Team, and Tonga Had a Luger . Victor Mather . 17 November 2017 . New York Times .
  11. Web site: Ski Racing Media.
  12. Web site: Ivan Šola je sa 47 godina među "starcima" Igara.
  13. Web site: Zaccardi. Nick. Prince Hubertus von Hohenlohe of Mexico will be second oldest Winter Olympian ever. NBC Olympic Talk. 2 January 2014. 2 January 2014.
  14. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140222/olympics-mexican-mariachi-von-hohenlohe-crashes-out-slalom Olympics Mexican mariachi von Hohenlohe crashes out slalom
  15. News: Mexican prince eyes title as oldest Winter Olympian ever . AOL . 23 February 2017 .
  16. News: 'Tres' company for the Mexico ski team in the Winter Olympics . Adriana Terrazas . 31 October 2017 . ESPN .
  17. Web site: Tres mexicanos acudirán a Pyeongchang 2018 . 18 May 2017 . Esportes.MX . es.
  18. News: México estará presente en los Juegos Olímpicos Invernales de 2018 . 11 August 2017 . SIPSE.com . es.
  19. Web site: México con cuatro o cinco atletas a Pyeongchang 2018 . 23 February 2017 . Carlos Alberto Cruz . El Big Data .
  20. News: Boren . Cindy . 11 February 2018 . The Mexican Olympic ski team's Day of the Dead uniforms will haunt you . The Washington Post.
  21. Web site: Hubertus Von Hohenlohe, a 62 anni il suo 19° Mondiale!. sciaremag.it. it. 9 February 2021. 26 February 2021.