Mario Matt

Mario Matt ( born April 9, 1979 in Flirsch ) is an Austrian alpine skier. He is particularly successful in slalom and was in this discipline Olympic champion (2014 ) and twice world champion (2001 and 2007). In addition, a World Team Championship title (2007) and in more than a dozen wins the World Cup. His younger brother Andrew is also skiers, however, in the discipline of ski cross. The second pillar of the professional horse lovers a stud has built next to the skiing.

  • 2.1 Olympic Winter Games
  • 2.2 World Championships
  • 2.3 World Cup ratings
  • 2.4 World Cup wins
  • 2.5 European Cup
  • 2.6 Junior World Championships
  • 2.7 Austrian Championships
  • 2.8 Further successes

Biography

Beginnings and rise to world top

Mario Matt began very early with the skiing and soon found inclusion in the prestigious Arlberg Ski Club. Since 1996, he serves on the Executive of the Austrian Ski Federation. Earlier in his career he showed good performances in all disciplines. So in 1996 he became best in his age group at the Austrian Junior Championships in the Giant Slalom, Super-G and Downhill. At the end of this year he celebrated his first victory in a FIS races (slalom in Waterville Valley). In 1997 he was Austrian Junior Champion in the Super- G, 1998, he won the title in slalom. In his three appearances at the Junior World Championships, he won two silver medals in slalom in 1998 and 1999 in the combination. This year he was able to finish it all competitions among the best seven. His first two European Cup races continued the Tyrolean in January 1997, the next winter was followed by a further five bets. From the 1998/99 season he was a regular at the start and reached this winter two top 10 places. He was Austrian Champion in the combination 1999.

The breakthrough came Matt, who had grown from a rounder at a slalom specialist, in the winter of 1999 /2000. On 21 December 1999 he participated for the first time at a World Cup race in part, finished third in slalom in Kranjska Gora on the 17th place and picked right off the bat World Cup points. On 10 January 2000, Matt celebrated his first European Cup victory in the slalom in Kranjska Gora. A week later he drove his second World Cup race, a slalom in Wengen, fell there, but for the second pass. Unexpectedly, celebrated the 20 -year-old in only his third World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel on January 23, 2000, with nearly one second ahead of Slovenia Matjaž Vrhovnik his first World Cup victory. Over the next three races he came twice on the podium and won on March 9 in Schladming his second World Cup slalom. He reached the fourth place in the discipline standings. In the European Cup he scored also two more slalom victory, which he won the slalom standings and finished fourth overall. At the Austrian Championships 2000, he was national champion in slalom.

First world title

In the World Cup season 2000/ 01 Matt celebrated on 19 December in the 3- Tre race in Madonna di Campiglio his third victory and came three more times on the podium, which he improved in the slalom standings to third place. With his " home World Cup " in St. Anton Matt won the first title at major events. Already in the combination, the local hero secured with seventh in the downhill and finished second in the slalom silver medal. Four days later he won the slalom ahead of his compatriot Benjamin Raich the gold medal.

To kick off the 2001/02 season Matt drove his first World Cup giant slalom, but finished it only ranked 27th in the slalom, however, he celebrated on November 26th in the second race in Aspen his fourth World Cup victory, having already finished third on the previous day. Another podium finish he managed the end of December in Kranjska Gora. On 20 January 2002, however, the season for Matt was over. At the start of the first round of the Kitzbühel slalom he was injured severely in the shoulder, having already suffered a slight Blessur during retraction. Although he finished the first run in ninth, a start in the second passage was impossible. A little later a shoulder dislocation with capsule and ligaments and a fracture of the humeral head was diagnosed with. On the same day he was operated in Innsbruck.

A difficult comeback

The comeback after serious injury was difficult for Matt. Although he reached in the first race after the forced break, the slalom in Kranjska Gora on 5 January 2003, the 14th place, this remained until end of season his best result. Many failures showed that he had not yet recovered the safety of the last few years back. Also in the 2003 World Cup in St. Moritz, the defending champion fell out in the first round. Only towards the end of the season 2003/ 04 he was the third places in St. Anton and Kranjska Gora again on the podium, reaching sixth place in the slalom discipline standings.

In the season 2004/ 05 Matt went first three times in the top ten and reached the end of January in Kitzbühel second place. At the 2005 World Championships in Bormio, he came in the combination to eleventh place, but in the slalom, he retired in the first round out. At the season final in Lenzerheide Matt finally won his first World Cup race for over three years. Like last year, he came into the Slalomendwertung in sixth place. At the end of the season he was the second time Austrian champion in slalom.

The 2005/06 season was a disappointing one. Matt launched this winter next to the slalom also significantly more often than in the past in the giant slalom, but this was not rewarded with success. Throughout the season he did not reach the podium and only came twice in the top ten. In his first Olympics he only came on the 34th rank in the combination and could not finish the slalom. At winter's end but was again Austrian slalom champion.

Back to top of the world

At the beginning of the season 2006/ 07 reached only Matt placements in midfield. After the new year, but that changed abruptly. On 7 January 2007, he was placed third in the slalom in Adelboden back on the podium and celebrated a week later in the Super Combined in Wengen his first victory in almost two years. This was his first and only World Cup victory he not won the slalom. He finished the next three races also on the podium. The fact that Matt had now regained finally back to its former top form, he also proved at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. With Laufbestzeiten in both rounds and the total lead of 1.81 seconds over second-placed Manfred Mölgg the Tyrol for the second time after 2001 again slalom world champion. The next day he won the gold medal in the team competition. In the World Cup he celebrated in the slalom in Garmisch -Partenkirchen and Kranjska Gora two more wins. But the season finale, he came only to second place behind Benjamin Raich, causing it snatched victory in the slalom World Cup still five points. In the overall World Cup Matt finished with a total of three wins and five other podium finishes in fifth place, his best result.

Prior to the 2007/ 08 season, Matt completed a reinforced giant slalom training, which was also evident paid quickly. On 2 December 2007, he reached the second place in Beaver Creek by far his best result in this discipline. But he could not repeat this result. After failing twice in slalom in December, Matt celebrated in January and February, three victories and finished at the end of the fourth place in the slalom World Cup.

Declining performance and re- return to the world top

Matt began the 2008/09 season with a third place in the slalom in Levi, but had to fight in the further course with many failures and only rarely came into the top ten. By default he was not spared at the 2009 World Championships in Val d'Isere. In his only start in the slalom, he left in the first passage. The World Cup season joined Matt in the finals in Åre with his only win of the season off. In December 2009, Matt drove his last giant slalom at the World Cup, since then he fully concentrates on the slalom. The 2009/10 season was still very disappointing. Matt came in only two slalom start to the finish (eighth place in Zagreb and tenth rank in Kitzbühel) and could thus within the Austrian team to qualify for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. He traveled only as a substitute driver to Canada and was not used. Matt fell in the slalom World Cup on rank 31 and increased after the season from the national team in the A- squad from.

After the 2010/11 season had started badly and Matt did not come in the first three World Cup slalom races up to the second passage, he reached on January 9, 2011 with the fastest time in the second run to fourth place in the slalom in Adelboden. This power he confirmed a week later with fifth place in the slalom in Wengen and another week after that for eighth place in Kitzbühel. He had qualified for the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch -Partenkirchen, where he was also with the fastest time in the second run fourth in the slalom. The medals he missed by 21 hundredths of a second. On 27 February 2011 Matt celebrated in the slalom in Bansko his 13th World Cup victory - the first in two years. A week later he won the slalom in Kranjska Gora. At the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, he was runner-up and finished the season fourth in the slalom World Cup standings.

The season 2011/2012 season began again disappointing for Matt: For the first four World Cup slaloms he reached only twice the target, with a ninth place in Flachau his best result was. But then he was able to improve and two fourth places in Adelboden and Wengen was followed by a second course Kitzbühel and a third place at the Night Race in Schladming. In Bansko he was disqualified as a second later because of a threader. After he did not come to the finish in the slalom in Kranjska Gora, he finished the season with third place in the slalom at the season finale in Schladming from conciliatory.

After a somewhat sluggish start of the season, Matt raised in the course of the World Cup winter 2012/13 and achieved two podiums in Zagreb and Adelboden. At the World Championships 2013 in Schladming, he won his fifth overall World Championship medal, a bronze medal in the slalom.

On December 15, 2013 in Val d'Isere Matt celebrated his 15th World Cup victory; he is the oldest winner of a World Cup slalom race ever (34 years and 8 months). Later in the season 2013/14 Matt kept his form, although at a very high level, but reached the target in Adelboden, Kitzbühel and Schladming not. Finally, he was at the Olympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi Olympic champion in slalom; making it the oldest gold medalist in alpine skiing division. In early April announced Matt to want to deny another season.

Achievements

Olympic Winter Games

  • Turin 2006: 34 combination
  • Sochi 2014: 1 Slalom

World Championships

  • St. Anton 2001: 1st slalom, second combination
  • Bormio 2005: 11 combination
  • Åre 2007: 1 Slalom, 1st team competition, 11 combination
  • Garmisch -Partenkirchen 2011: 4th Slalom
  • Schladming 2013: 3rd slalom

World Cup ratings

  • Season 1999/ 00: 4th slalom World Cup
  • Season 2000/ 01: 3 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2001/ 02: 8 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2003/ 04: 6 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2004/ 05: 6 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2006/ 07: 2nd Slalom World Cup, 5th overall World Cup
  • Season 2007/ 08: 4th slalom World Cup 10 World Cup
  • Season 2008/ 09: 7 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2010/ 11: 4th slalom World Cup
  • Season 2011/12: 7 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2012/13: 6 Slalom World Cup
  • Season 2013/14: 6 Slalom World Cup

World Cup wins

Matt won the World Cup so far 42 podiums including 15 victories:

European Cup

  • 1999/2000 season: 1 slalom standings, 4 Appreciation

Total 6 podiums including 3 victories:

Junior World Championships

  • Schladming 1997: 13 Giant Slalom, Downhill 15
  • Megève 1998: 2nd Slalom
  • Pra Loup 1999: 2 combination, 4th Slalom, Giant Slalom 5th, 7th Super -G, downhill 7

Austrian Championships

  • 5 -times Austrian Champion: Slalom 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2012; combination 1999
  • 2-times Austrian Junior Champion: Super -G in 1997, Slalom 1998

Other successes

  • 3 podiums in the Nor- Am Cup
  • 14 wins in FIS races

Awards (excerpt)

  • Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
Slalom skiing Alpine skiing combined Winter Olympic Games FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2001 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2007 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2013 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships 2007 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2008 Alpine Skiing World Cup Andreas Matt Waterville Valley, New Hampshire Municipality of Kranjska Gora 2001 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup Aspen (Colorado) FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 2005 Alpine Skiing World Cup FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005 2006 Alpine Skiing World Cup Beaver Creek Resort 2009 Alpine Skiing World Cup Levi, Finland FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 2010 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2011 Alpine Skiing World Cup FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 2012 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2013 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup Alpine skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics 2000 Alpine Skiing World Cup Italy Bulgaria France Ofterschwang Othmar Schneider Ernst Hinterseer Josef Stiegler Jean-Claude Killy Piero Gros Ingemar Stenmark Alberto Tomba Finn Christian Jagge Thomas Stangassinger Jean-Pierre Vidal Giuliano Razzoli David Zogg Anton Seelos Rudolf Rominger Georges Schneider Stein Eriksen Josef Rieder Charles Bozon Jonas Nilsson Tom Stiansen Manfred Pranger Jean-Baptiste Grange Marcel Hirscher Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer Hilde Gerg Felix Neureuther Marlies Schild Fritz Strobl Cyprien Richard Tessa Worley Marcel Mathis
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