Odermatt and his “spotted chicks”

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At first glance, Priska Odermatt is an atypical mother for a fearless ski racer. Because she no longer uses chair lifts due to her fear of heights, Priska did not ski for 15 years until she discovered a drag lift at the World Cup in Courchevel. Yet her share in her son’s gigantic successes is great. Mama Odermatt once completely put her own professional ambitions on hold so she could drive little Marco around for training and racing through Central Switzerland. And during the upbringing, she instilled in her child many useful values ​​​​for life off the slopes. “I learned a lot of decency from my mother. Starting with how to properly hold a knife, fork and spoon while eating, to how to say hello the right way. It remains important to her that I don’t say ‘hello’ to people when I greet them, but ‘good day’ or ‘grüezi’,” says Marco.

“Odi” was a five-year-old boy when his father Walti, together with Paul Schmidiger (father of slalom specialist Reto), laid the foundations for the alpine wonder of Nidwalden. The two hired a professional trainer for the young people with a 50 percent mandate and were mainly responsible for creating a gifted learning class for regional ski talents in the senior years, despite initial skepticism in the schools in the canton of Nidwalden. of the Hergiswil School. From this class, in addition to Marco Odermatt and Reto Schmidiger, Andrea Ellenberger, Priska Nufer, Delia Durrer, Nathalie Gröbli, Yannick Chabloz, Vivianne Härri and Joel Lütolf made it to the World Cup. Ever since his son embodied the superstar on the big alpine stage, Walti Odermatt, who makes his living as a civil engineer, has also been responsible for processing fan mail.

The fact that the two-time overall World Cup winner, World Champion and Olympic champion from Buochs ​​keeps a cool head in the hottest situations is also thanks to Monika Wicki-Hess, who lives in Hergiswil. The cousin of six-time world champion Erika Hess has been Odermatt’s mental trainer since 2015. “Marco does three to five training sessions with me between April and December,” says the woman, who finished eleventh in the 1984 Olympic slalom. But, of course, Odermatt’s mental training goes far beyond these four sessions with her. “Marco works just as intensively in the mental sector as in the skiing technique or the physical field.” However, he can handle most of the top-heavy workouts on his own. “I try to convey to every athlete that they can solve a mental problem themselves. But I give him a few methods that are like a toolbox where he can find the right tool to solve his problems.”

Chris Lödler is one of the most successful military in the ski circus. Before working for the Stöckli company, he converted the skis of Swedish national hero Anja Pärson into real rockets. Since 2016, he has been responsible for Marco Odermatt’s skis. For the Nidwaldner, however, Lödler is much more than a service person. Chris and Marco now have a real friendship. That is why they usually drive to the World Cup races in pairs in the same car. “For Marco, Chris is also worth his weight in gold because he always remains completely calm even in the most hectic moments,” says father Walti. In a television commercial by the association’s main sponsor, Odermatt speaks in a broad Nidwalden dialect that he needs “dotted chicks” in his environment for success. He refers not least to Lödler. “For me as an Austrian that is a strange word. But it probably applies to me.” And to ensure that this “dotted chick” stays with him for a long time, Odermatt transfers ten percent of the prize money to Lödler and his other ski service team.

In the spring of 2016, Swiss ski head coach Tom Stauffer made a decision that pundits such as Didier Plaschy describe as an “absolutely brilliant move”: The Bernese Oberlander appointed Austrian Helmut Krug as giant slalom boss. The Tyrolean is an excellent specialist with a brilliant eye for skiing technique. And because Krug has a huge network of contacts, he has access to the best training slopes from virtually anywhere in the skiing world. Thanks to Krug, the Swiss enjoy a higher priority than the ÖSV athletes in the training mecca on the Austrian Reiteralm. With Renzo Valsecchi and Johannes Hassler, Krug also has two assistant coaches who complement each other perfectly. Three weeks ago, this trio had a particularly impressive experience with their “Odi” in the US. «After landing in San Francisco, Marco fell ill with a bad flu. I couldn’t imagine that he could give a top performance in this condition in the giant slalom at Palisades Tahoe,” admits Krug. “But then he finished second. An absolute sensation in these circumstances!”

Despite his excellent technique, Odermatt often lost a lot of time in his first FIS races because he was physically inferior. Nowadays, the 25-year-old is also physically top, which is mainly due to his strength and conditioning coach Kurt Kothbauer. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Upper Austrian celebrated some successes as a shot putter, javelin thrower and discus thrower before joining the ÖSV, where he improved Hermann Maier’s stamina and strength. During this time, Kothbauer also met Helmut Krug, who brought him to Swiss-Ski in 2016. “I really wanted to have the kurti in my group because I knew there was no one better, especially when it came to strength training,” says Krug. And that’s why the once delicate “Odi” now has a muscle mass like the legendary “Herminator”. “Marco can keep up with Hermann Maier in his best times when it comes to maximum power values,” Kothbauer proudly confirms.

Michael Schiendorfer worked as head of communications at a large pharmaceutical company before becoming a self-employed sports manager in 2016. One of his first official acts was the commitment of then 18-year-old Junior Giant Slalom World Champion Marco Odermatt and swing talent Joel Wicki. Four years later, Schiendorfer made a real coup when he signed a sponsorship deal with Red Bull for Odermatt. Since then, Marco has had a fixed seat in the private jet of the energy drink manufacturer in winter, when traveling on Chris Lödler’s bus is not possible due to time constraints. In the meantime, Schiendorfer has negotiated further lucrative contracts for the alpine high-flyer with a total of 19 premium partners. In addition, the man from eastern Switzerland, who lives in the Basel region, works with his wife Bettina on numerous questions from fans and media.

Source : Blick

Emma

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.