“A childhood dream comes true”
Daughter of German ski world champion makes World Cup debut
November 13, 2025 – 3:46 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Her mother won two world titles and three Olympic medals. Now Romy Ertl can prove himself for the first time at the highest level in the Alpine Ski World Cup.
Romy Ertl makes her debut in the World Cup on Saturday – and is following in big footsteps. Martina Ertl’s 18-year-old daughter starts in the slalom in Levi, where she meets the top international level for the first time. “I’m really happy,” said Ertl, “a really big childhood dream has come true for me to be at the start with athletes like Lena Dürr and Mikaela Shiffrin.”
So far, the young driver from Lenggries has gained experience in the European Cup and in FIS races. She celebrated her greatest success to date at the Youth Winter Games in South Korea at the beginning of 2024, where she came third in the combination.
Her mother Martina Ertl was one of the most successful German ski racers for years. She won World Championship gold twice – in 2001 in the combination and 2005 in the team – and three medals at the Olympic Games: silver in 1994 in the giant slalom, silver in 1998 in the combination and bronze again in 2002 in the combination. In the World Cup she achieved a total of 14 victories between 1994 and 2003, ten of which were in the giant slalom.
The first slaloms of the Olympic season are taking place in Levi this weekend. The women start on Saturday, the men on Sunday (10 a.m. and 1 p.m., both in the live ticker on t-online). In addition to Ertl, the German Ski Association (DSV) also nominated Lena Dürr (Germering), Emma Aicher (Mahlstetten) and Jessica Hilzinger (Oberstdorf).
The men’s squad includes Linus Straßer (Munich), Sebastian Holzmann (Oberstdorf) and Anton Tremmel (Rottach-Egern). Dominik Zerhoch (Partenkirchen) will start in a World Cup race for the first time – at the age of 24.