Mario Reiter

Mario Reiter ( born November 5, 1970 in Rankweil ) is a former Austrian alpine skier, who was particularly successful in the technical disciplines slalom and giant slalom as well as in the combination. In his nearly decade-long career of Vorarlberg won, among others, an Olympic gold medal in alpine combination and won two medals at the World Ski Championships. To this end, he was a two-time Austrian champion, once each in the giant slalom and the slalom and celebrated three World Cup victories. After his professional career, he takes an active member of the Ski Club Rankweil still occasionally participate in ski racing. Reiter is married and has two sons.

  • 2.1 Olympic Winter Games
  • 2.2 World Championships
  • 2.3 Junior World Championships
  • 2.4 World Cup
  • 2.5 European Cup
  • 2.6 Austrian Championships

Career

After the Austrians had broken at the age of five years for his first ski attempt a leg, he went first for a few years no longer ski. His father eventually persuaded him to continue in this sport.

Early years (1988-1994)

Rider gained his first international experience with a start at the Alpine Ski World Youth Championship in 1988, he finished in 27th place in the slalom. Then his incipient career was interrupted by two ACL tears, which he also lost his Austrian Ski Federation cadres belonging. Rider continued to train at their own expense and finally made their return to the European Cup team of the Austrian Ski Federation. On December 15, 1991, he drove his first race in the World Cup, but was initially only very rarely. After good results in the European Cup, he participated in the 1993/94 season already participated in several races and took as 21 in the giant slalom on the Gran Risa in Alta Badia his first points. That same season he improved his top result to a sixteenth place in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora.

International breakthrough (1995-1996)

In December 1994, the Austrians succeeded in his first race of the season, the first result in the top ten, a seventh place in the Giant Slalom in Tignes, he could just repeat it in the slalom in Sestriere. In February 1995, riders finally managed the breakthrough when he finished second at the World Cup slalom in Furano first and then in the same place celebrated his first victory in the giant slalom. He criticized the runner- Jure Košir a good tenth of a second. After a brief stint in the Far East Cup, where he won two slalom races, he returned to the end of the season in March 1995, again in the World Cup back, but did not get back into the top 10, but reached the Super G in Bormio with rank 20 his best result in a speed discipline. End of the month he took very successfully in the Austrian Championship, where he completely defeated the national competition in both the giant slalom and the slalom. Overall, he placed that season in tenth place in the overall World Cup slalom it was even enough for fifth in the giant slalom to eighth place.

The Alpine Ski World Cup began in 1996 for riders with an initial failure series. Of the first four races of the season he looked at three not the goal in the giant slalom in Beaver Creek him for it made ​​a good fifth place. This was followed by several top -10 results in series, so that the World Cup votes he pushed himself back up. After two more podium results in December 1995 and January 1996, he triumphed in the slalom in Sestriere for the second time. He was also nominated for the 1996 Alpine Ski World Through these good performances, his first major event since the eight years before the Junior World Championships. The combination finished rider in fourth place, where he had as leader after the slalom even had a chance to win. While he was eliminated in the giant slalom in the first round, he won the silver medal in the slalom behind the Italian Alberto Tomba and even the high expectations but was so righteous. In the World Cup, this was the rider successful season: the overall World Cup he finished eighth in the slalom standings and fourth in the Giant Slalom Ranking sixth.

Best Merits (1997-1998)

As in the previous rider poor start to the new season 1996 / 97th Although he always reached the goal in the first race, he never made ​​the jump into the top 10 until shortly before the World Championships in February of that year he returned to winning ways back and won the traditional World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel. At the World Cup 1997 in Sestriere rider won the bronze medal in the combination. After he landed in the combined downhill only ranked 23, he was able to continue with running the best times in both slalom runs still in the medal ranks. Since the other Austrians but in the Super -G and giant slalom won only two bronze medals and remained ever medaillenlos in the downhill was hoped that the victory would finally come in slalom, which took place on the last day of the World Cup. With Thomas Stangassinger, Thomas Sykora and the Rankweiler itself there were three Austrian favorites. While Stangassinger and Sykora at least Sixth and Ninth, were riders dropped out and so missed the third World Championship medal. In the last World Cup race also end of the season he managed to not jump on the podium, he slipped in the overall World Cup slalom to tenth place from.

Although riders in the Ski World Cup 1997/98 as well as was able to record any success - his best result was a 11th place - he won only shortly before the 1998 Olympics in Nagano nor the nomination for this. As one of four Austrian starters there he took part in the Alpine combined and slalom. The slalom race in the combination he finished with nearly two seconds ahead of the runner-up Lasse Kjus. Although this in turn on the descent more than 1.2 seconds gutmachte, it was not enough for the Austrians from the top to displace, so riders could celebrate the Olympic victory. In eleven days later held slalom rider came after his victory as a favorite, but different in the first passage out. In the last World Cup slalom of winter it nevertheless still managed the only top-10 result of the season.

Last years and End of career (1998-2001)

After the Olympic victory he scored barely success. In the 1998/99 season came horseman who now only drove slalom at the World Cup, only three race to the finish. His best result was only a 16th place in Wengen, which he was in the slalom scoring only 34. Nevertheless, he again came in the 1999 World Cup in the combination used, but different from the slalom. In the season 1999/2000 the Austrians tried with several starts in the and Europe -Nor -Am to find Cup back against the world's best, and finally once again showed his skills when he end of February at the World Cup slalom in the South Korean Yongpyong fourth on the Rank placed. In March, with a ninth place in Schladming he succeeded his last top-10 result.

The Alpine Ski World Cup 2000/ 01 riders entered for the last time on an international level. For more World Cup starts, however, he only reached three times the target. Finally, he announced a surprise one day before his 31st birthday, on 4 November 2001 and his retirement from ski racing since he could no longer keep pace with the latest technological development in the slalom area. To this end, he said: "I was in the previous year no longer hold the tip. After a really good summer training my last performance was too good to stop immediately, but also too poor to be convincing. It has been shown that I will no longer reach the top humanly. " Until the 2008/09 season, he worked as many other successful former Austrian skier as a co- commentator on ORF. Since then he has worked in the marketing department of the Austrian Ski Federation.

Sporting successes

Olympic Winter Games

  • Nagano 1998: 1 combination

World Championships

  • Sierra Nevada 1996: 2nd slalom, 4 combination
  • Sestriere 1997: 3 combination

Junior World Championships

  • Madonna di Campiglio 1988: 27 Slalom

World Cup

  • Season 1994/95: 10th overall, fifth slalom standings, 8 Giant Slalom rating
  • 1995/96 season: 8th overall, 4th slalom standings, 6 giant slalom rating
  • Season 1996/ 97: 10 slalom rating
  • 6 podiums including 3 victories:

European Cup

  • 1992/93 Season: 6 Super -G standings
  • Season 1993/94: 5th overall, fifth giant slalom rating
  • 3 podiums

Austrian Championships

  • Austrian Champion in slalom and giant slalom in 1995

Awards

  • Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria (1998)
Slalom skiing Alpine skiing combined Super-G Winter Olympic Games Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1997 1996 Alpine Skiing World Cup 1994 Alpine Skiing World Cup Municipality of Kranjska Gora 1995 Alpine Skiing World Cup Furano, Hokkaido Beaver Creek Resort 1997 Alpine Skiing World Cup 1998 Alpine Skiing World Cup Nagano, Nagano 1999 Alpine Skiing World Cup FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1999 2000 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2001 Alpine Skiing World Cup Italy Henri Oreiller Hubert Strolz Josef Polig Bode Miller Sandro Viletta
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