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Blick: Marco Odermatt, can you equate this huge hat-trick on the Chuenisbärgli with your gold medals at the Olympic Games and the World Cup?
Marco Odermatt: If you, as a Swiss, win in Adelboden in front of these fantastic fans and in this unique atmosphere, it is certainly more special than a victory anywhere else. It is indescribably beautiful when you feel the enthusiasm of all the spectators.
At Chuenisbärgli you didn’t just experience beautiful moments. When was your frustration the greatest?
2018 was a terrible year for me as I finished 31st and narrowly missed qualifying for the second run. I watched the second race with my fans in the stands. I did the same a year later after injuring my meniscus a few weeks earlier in Alta Badia.
Would you still watch the decision with your fans in the stands after a clean sheet in the first round?
Preferably less. But then I still knew every member of my fan club personally. These were all people with whom I enjoyed watching a sports broadcast with, also in private.
Although your fan club now has so many members that you no longer know them all personally, you went home with the fan bus after your huge victory in Chuenisbärgli last year. There must have been supporters who went crazy when you got in the car, right?
Since very few fans had a blood alcohol level of 0.0, some were already napping in their seats when I boarded the bus at 8 p.m. And because there were good colleagues of mine in front and behind me, I was well protected anyway.
Why didn’t you leave Adelboden alone at that time?
Because I had previously traveled by plane from the training camp on the Reiteralm to the Bernese Oberland, my car was not in Adelboden. So the fan bus was the easiest way for me to get home. It was also the best opportunity for me to toast the victory with the fans. Before crossing the border into Nidwalden, we had a very nice party at my regular bar in Lucerne.
Which is your local bar?
The Jodlerwirt, which is run by my friend Simon from Beckenried. This is a beautiful temple to hits where I can indulge my rustic side.
Did you pick up your worst hangover here?
No, I had it in 2018 for the World Cup finals in Are. I was only allowed to start there because I became a multiple junior world champion this season. To my own surprise, I finished in the top 15 in downhill and super-G, gaining my first speed World Cup points. It was logical that I celebrated this premiere exuberantly at the legendary Audi party. I was staying in an apartment with Daniel Yule at the time, and after I got home from that party he barely slept because I had to go to the bathroom so often. Two days later I was still in the top 15 in the giant slalom.
If you are invited for a beer that same evening by Marco Schwarz, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Henrik Kristoffersen – who would you most like to toast with?
With Kilde. Of this trio, I have had the most to do with Aleksander so far; I have some sympathy for him.
What about Kristoffersen?
I haven’t really gotten to know Henrik personally yet. And the way he behaves as a racing driver, he certainly doesn’t get a 10 from me.
This winter, Kristoffersen scored points with some representatives in the ski circus because he threatened climate activists with violence during the slalom in Gurgl. What do you think?
The question is whether the threat of violence in this situation was the right thing to do. But overall, I thought it was good that he took a stand against the actions of this group. We can’t just tolerate everything. The fact is: we skiers are directly affected by climate change; it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to do good snow training on the glaciers in the summer. But it does our environment no good when a few joggers with orange paint storm the finish area of a World Cup race and thus unfairly influence the competition, because after this interruption the conditions for the remaining starters were worse.
Last spring you were attacked by a Greenpeace representative for not signing the climate petition that Austrian speed specialist Julian Schütter sent to the FIS. Have you ever regretted this decision?
No. If I had put my signature on this paper, I would have made myself unreliable to some extent, because as a ski racer I cannot fulfill the requirements in this letter 100 percent. It is very clear: every sector and every person must be aware of the need to do their best for the environment. But the ski circus is certainly not the biggest problem in this area: in the US alone, an average of 50,000 flights are operated every day. The Alpine World Cup flies abroad twice a season. And because our series is called the World Cup and not the European Cup, it is also important that we participate in races on other continents.
Wouldn’t it be enough to fly to North America once a season for World Cup races?
I don’t really see a big problem with this. In November we fly to Canada and the USA for the speed races, in February for the giant and slalom races in Aspen and Palisades Tahoe. There are maybe ten athletes who, like me, compete in the technical and speed events. The majority of ski racers only fly to North America once a year. That is very little if you compare it with other world sports such as football or Formula 1. CEOs of large companies make three to four flights every week.
A few years ago you fulfilled a strange man’s dying wish by visiting him on his deathbed. How did that happen?
This man’s family approached my manager Michael Schiendorfer with this request. Since it was summer and I didn’t have to perform top sports the next day, I agreed. I edited a video with a few racing photos of myself and then drove to the hospital with my friend Gianluca Amstutz. What I experienced there hit me much harder than I thought.
How?
It wasn’t like I could sit on the couch with this man again and talk normally. He was actually on his deathbed, tied to countless tubes. And while I felt that I had brought great joy to this man and his family with my visit, today I don’t know if I would do something like that again.
There are many people around you who describe you as very social people. It is often said that a champion must also be a bit of a pig.
I would never describe myself as particularly sociable. Of course I always ask people around me who needs clothing or other ski equipment from me. And I think it is important that my training colleagues Gino Caviezel and Justin Murisier do very well in the ski circus. But I don’t see myself as particularly social.
But let me ask you again: where is the pig in the outstanding ski champion Odermatt?
I know I’m a very sore loser. But because I have almost exclusively celebrated success in recent years, I don’t know how I would react if a teammate continued to overtake me in the next five races. Justin and Gino are also sensational in that respect, they celebrate with me, even when things weren’t going well for them during the race.
You often share an apartment with Caviezel and Murisier in the ski circus. What was the worst neighborhood you ever lived in?
Far below was the apartment we moved into last winter after arriving in Aspen – it was truly a run-down house. Thanks to a chance meeting, a few days later we found ourselves living in the most luxurious accommodation of our World Cup career in Aspen.
How did this upgrade come about?
We met a man in Aspen who told us about a colleague who would definitely have a few rooms available for us on the sunny slope. He also told us that this colleague was Swiss just like us. When Justin, Gino and I entered this Swiss man’s house the next day, we were shocked. It was a villa – with three swimming pools, two bars, a cinema and a gym. We then lived alone in this dream house for three days. Then the owner came back. And the owner of this dream villa is Gunnar Sachs, the son of the legendary Gunter Sachs, who lived in Gstaad and St. Moritz. Gunnar has two children who also participate in ski races. We were able to make them happy with racing suits and starting numbers. The intention is that we can stay with Gunnar Sachs again this year during the Aspen races.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
