Marco Odermatt SwissSki Media day Photograph Peter Gerber Plech
From Vienna Highlight to Sölden Begin Gate
Over the previous few days, Austria performed a central function in Stöckli athlete Marco Odermatt’s life. On Monday, Oct. 13, the 28-year-old Swiss star traveled to Vienna for a particular mission. After a weekend of sightseeing within the Austrian capital, he joined fellow World Cup racers Cyprien Sarrazin, Dominik Paris, Vincent Kriechmayr, and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on Kärntner Strasse close to St. Stephen’s Cathedral to current the brand new movie Downhill Skiers — Ain’t No Mountain Steep Sufficient.The film premiered that night at Vienna’s historic Gartenbaukino Cinema after earlier pageant showings in Zurich. Lower than two weeks earlier than the World Cup opener in Sölden, Odermatt traded his race swimsuit for formal put on—simply one other reminder of how broadly he now connects with audiences past the slopes.
A Rising Following in Austria
For years, Odermatt has constructed a large fan base in Austria. His enchantment extends nicely previous his outcomes. Social media posts and widespread protection in Austrian newspapers spotlight the respect he exhibits each followers and rivals.
“That possibly has one thing to do with my character and the respect I’ve for different athletes,” he stated. “However respect runs deep in our sport. Everybody is aware of the opponent takes the identical dangers you do.”
His humility and sportsmanship have solely strengthened his standing as the game’s dominant male racer
Coming into the Olympic Season because the Goal
Because the four-time general World Cup champion, Odermatt begins the 2025-26 Olympic winter as the person everyone seems to be chasing. That function is acquainted, however he acknowledges refined adjustments in contrast with earlier years.
“As an all-rounder, I’ve in all probability reached my peak,” he stated lately in Zurich. “Final winter, I turned stronger in downhill—particularly in lengthy gliding turns such as you see in Gröden, Kvitfjell, or Crans-Montana. As a result of that feeling improved, I misplaced a bit in large slalom. If you wish to get higher in a single space, you typically have to offer one thing up in one other. That’s the slim path of an all-rounder.”Trying forward, he expects his focus to shift step by step towards the pace disciplines, the place he nonetheless sees untapped potential. “There’s extra room for development in downhill and super-G,” he stated.
Returning to Sölden with Confidence
Regardless of not ending final 12 months’s Sölden race, Odermatt carries no sense of unfinished enterprise.“I’ve already received there twice,” he stated. “Even final 12 months, I used to be in good kind and began nicely—one thing simply didn’t work that day. I nonetheless go to Sölden with a superb feeling.”
He is aware of the following step is rediscovering race mode. Early-season snow camps in August sharpened his approach, whereas high-volume classes in South America added depth. The ultimate days earlier than Sölden, he stated, are about switching totally into competitors rhythm—mentally getting ready to push from the beginning gate and finalizing the proper tools setup.
“You actually get into race mode while you arrive on the venue,” he stated. “Then, when you’re up on the glacier, the routines and rituals on race day create the main target you want.”
Targets Past Medals and Globes
With a trophy case already filled with World Championship medals and double-digit crystal globes, setting new targets just isn’t easy. Nonetheless, he supplied a transparent reply to the standard journalist’s query.
“Successful the downhill in Kitzbühel remains to be one of many huge desires,” he stated. “However I’ve already received there in super-G, I’ve the golden chamois trophy at dwelling, and a gondola with my title on it goes round in Kitzbühel—so half a test mark is finished. This 12 months, the Olympic Video games are the massive spotlight.”
A fifth consecutive general title additionally stays a goal, although Odermatt stays sensible. “The sector has turn out to be tighter,” he stated. “When you don’t get the factors, your greatest challenger normally does.”
Respecting Limits and Longevity
Lastly, he reassured Austrian followers that chasing Marcel Hirscher’s document of eight general titles just isn’t on his agenda.
“To win the general 5 extra occasions in a row may be very, very distant,” he stated. “I’d moderately ski two or three further seasons with a lighter schedule than drain each little bit of vitality simply to struggle for yet one more general title.”
Marco Odermatt stays the defining athlete of contemporary alpine snowboarding—revered not just for his dominance but additionally for his steadiness, self-awareness, and deep appreciation for the game’s calls for. Because the Olympic winter approaches, he as soon as once more stands prepared on the fringe of risk.
