Benjamin Karl

Benjamin Martin Karl (born 16 October 1985 in St. Pölten, Lower Austria ) is an Austrian snowboarder. He was three times overall World Cup winner, won the small crystal in the Parallel World Cup and was the 2004/ 05 World Junior champion in parallel giant slalom. World Champion in 2009 he parallel slalom in Xingyu (Korea ) and 2011 both in the parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom in La Molina ( Spain). At the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 Karl won the silver medal in Sochi in 2014 and the bronze medal in the parallel slalom.

Career

In 1995, Karl chose a way as snowboarders. In the same year finished a accident in which he broke three thoracic vertebrae, almost his career. After a month-long bed rest, he began again to build up training and won in the same year the Landescup. As a student he attended the Skihandelsschule Schladming. There, he found suitable training opportunities. He won in the 2004/05 season the Junior World Championships in Parallelriesentorlauf, the overall victory in the European Cup and the Austrian National Champion title in the parallel slalom and Parallelriesentorlauf. In the 2007 /08 season he won the snowboard World Cup ahead of France's Mathieu Bozzetto. Karl has a younger brother Tobias.

In the summer of 2008 was Benjamin Karl one of four candidates in the ORF -show "The Aviator ".

On February 27, 2010 Benjamin Karl won the silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which was one main reason that he is still starting in April of the same year " The Match" took part in the ORF show.

In the Snowboard World Championships 2011 in La Molina, Spain Benjamin Karl won gold in parallel giant slalom (PGS ) and defended his world title in the parallel slalom (PSL ) and thus chose to double world champion. On 25 January 2013, Karl took the fourth world title. Benjamin Karl managed to make it the first boarder to defend a world title in the parallel giant slalom successfully.

Benjamin Karl in August 2011 married his girlfriend Nina Grissmann, the daughter of Werner Grissmann, and since June 2012, has one daughter.

At the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014, he won the bronze medal in the parallel slalom.