Elisabeth Theurer

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Equestrian
Olympic medalist
Elisabeth Theurer and Mon Cherie, in the process of their gold-medal performance at the 1980 Olympics
Medal record
Gold	1980 Moscow	Individual dressage

Elisabeth Theurer (born September 20, 1956 in Linz) is a horse rider from Austria, who is known as Elisabeth Max-Theurer after marriage. She began riding at age 10. In 1968 she met Hans Max, a riding instructor, in cooperation with whom she achieved her main results and whom she married fifteen years later.

In 1973 she received Mon Cherie, a dark grey horse, as a bonus buying another one. Mon Cherie's first steps were rather disappointing, but after consequent and persistent work he became very skillful, famous for his piaffe-passage tour and pirouettes.

At the 1979 European Dressage Championships in Aarhus Theurer with Mon Cherie won the gold medal. A year later on Mon Cherie she became the Olympic Champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Various international successes followed. On another horse, Acapulco, she participated at the 1984 Summer Olympics and came in 11th. After a break caused by the birth of her daughter Victoria (in 1985) and her son Johannes (in 1987), Theurer returned to competition and participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where she competed on the horse Liechtenstein, finishing 8th.

After Theurer had finished her active career in 1994 she supports her daughter, who is a promising rider (Victoria was 20th in individual and 8th in team event at the 2004 Summer Olympics). She has also been the President of the Austrian Association for Riding and Carriage Driving since 2002.