Stephan Eberharter

Eberharter ( born March 24, 1969 in Brixlegg ) is a former Austrian alpine skier. He won 29 World Cup races, twice the overall World Cup, was Olympic champion and three times world champion. He is ranked among the most successful ski racers of the Austrian Ski Federation.

  • 2.1 Olympic Winter Games
  • 2.2 World Championships
  • 2.3 Junior World Championships
  • 2.4 World Cup 2.4.1 World Cup wins

Biography

The beginning

Eberharter completed his education at the Skihauptschule Neustift and the Skihandelsschule Stams. First international experience he gained at the Junior World Championships in 1987, where he achieved its best result to the seventh place in the giant slalom. In 1988 he was included in the squad of the Austrian Ski Federation and won the European Cup in the 1988/89 season, the overall and equal points with the Italian Attilio Barcella the giant slalom standings. After these successes, he started from the next winter in the World Cup, and reached in his first season four top - ten finishes. The first podium finish followed on 2 December 1990 with third place in the Super G in Valloire.

At the 1991 World Championships in Saalbach -Hinterglemm, the then 21 -year-old managed the big breakthrough. With victories in Super -G and in the combination he was double world champion. In the World Cup followed this winter two more podiums, so he reached behind the Swiss Franz Heinzer second place in the super -G standings, and at the end of the season he won the Austrian championship in slalom. Due to its great success at the World Cup, he was elected in 1991 to the Austrian Sportsman of the Year.

In the following years Eberharter was thrown back by injuries over again. Shortly before the 1992 Olympics he suffered a medial ligament tear, started there but in combination, where it turned out after the 18th place in the downhill slalom in the first passage. Best World Cup results this season two fourth places in the combinations of Garmisch -Partenkirchen and Kitzbühel. In the fall of 1992, he suffered a broken collarbone in a motorcycle accident. At the 1993 World Championships in Morioka Shizukuishi he could not defend his title combination, he fell in the slalom run out. But the super-G title he retained, since this race had to be canceled because of bad weather. On March 7, he reached second place in the Super G in Aspen by far his best result this season.

In December 1993 he suffered in a fall in Val Gardena serious injury in his left knee, which meant the end of the season for him. As a result, he had to undergo several operations meniscus. Also next winter he reached no pleasing results and finally fell out of the World Cup squad of the Austrian Ski Federation.

The Comeback

In the following years Eberharter tried to qualify for the European Cup again the World Cup. In the 1995/96 season he achieved several podiums, and took, without belonging to the national team at the World Cup in 1996 in the Sierra Nevada in part. As defending him the start in the Super- G was possible, but he could not finish the race. In the European Cup 1996/97 season it was with the results significantly uphill. With six victories, he won the overall title, the downhill standings and the super-G standings and secured himself in these disciplines again a Fixstartplatz in the World Cup.

In his comeback in the World Cup in the 1997/98 season he managed to carve out at the top. Already in the first race of the season, the giant slalom in Tignes on October 26, Eberharter reached with the high start number 42 in fourth place in December and January was followed by several podiums. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano he won behind his teammate Hermann Maier silver medal in the giant slalom. Maier was in these years also Eberharter's biggest competitor, from whose shadow he could not take effect until Maiers serious injury permanently. At season's end Eberharter succeeded in the giant slalom in Crans -Montana on March 14, his first World Cup victory. In the World Cup he reached just as the Super-G in third place in the giant slalom, he finished fourth.

The 1998/99 season began as successful as the previous ended. After a second place finish at the season opener in Soelden, he celebrated in the next two races, two more wins. At the World Championships in Vail, he missed twice only just a medal. In the super -G, he finished fourth in the downhill fifth, in the giant slalom, he fell in the first round out. In the World Cup final standings he reached with three victories and six other podium finishes in second place in the Super -G and giant slalom rating and fourth overall.

Not quite as good was the season 1999 /2000. Although Eberharter achieved six podiums, but won in any single race. In the World Cup he fell back to sixth place in downhill and super -G, he was fifth or seventh. But the following winter he again celebrated two wins, seven more came to the podium and was in the World Cup behind Hermann Maier, who won by a large margin, Second. Also in the downhill standings, he took second place behind Maier, Super-G, he came in fourth. At the 2001 World Championships in St. Anton, he won the silver medal in the Super -G, only beaten by the Americans Daron Rahlves. On the descent, he finished seventh.

At the top

After Maiers severe motorcycle accident in August 2001 Eberharter finally made their way to the top. From the media previously often labeled as the eternal second, he won in the 2001/ 02 season, in no less than ten races, reached another seven podiums and won by more than 600 points ahead of Norwegian Kjetil André Aamodt the large crystal for the overall World Cup victory. The downhill and super- G World Cup, he decided also for himself, in the giant slalom, he was third. The great successes were not even at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. On the descent, he won the bronze medal in the Super- G, he had only the Norwegians Aamodt about a tenth of a second to admit defeat and giant slalom, he was Miller with a clear lead on the American Olympic champion Bode. Due to this great success, he was awarded for the second time as Austrian Sportsman of the year 2002.

The following winter Eberharter could seamlessly connect to the last year's results. He won a total of nine races of the season, came four more times in the top three and won like last year, the World Cup, the World Cup downhill and super-G standings. He was 33 years old, and the oldest winner of the overall World Cup in history. At the 2003 World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, he was, as already twelve years previously, world champion in the super -G. For the second time in a row Eberharter was awarded in 2003 by the International Association of Ski Journalists with the Skieur d'Or.

After these successes Eberharter thought shortly after a resignation, but then decided still to start another year in the World Cup. In his final season he won in four runs and won for the third time in a row the World Cup downhill, super G, he reached with several podium places in third. In the World Cup he was only narrowly beaten by again fully convalescent Hermann Maier. On 17 September 2004 Eberharter announced his retirement from skiing.

Achievements

Olympic Winter Games

  • Nagano 1998: 2 Giant Slalom
  • Salt Lake City 2002: 1st Giant Slalom, Super-G, 2nd, 3rd exit

World Championships

  • Saalbach -Hinterglemm 1991: 1 Super -G, 1 combination, 17 Giant Slalom
  • Vail 1999: 4 Super -G, downhill 5
  • St. Anton 2001: 2 Super -G, downhill 7
  • St. Moritz 2003: 1 Super -G, downhill 5, 23 Giant Slalom

Junior World Championships

  • Hemsedal 1987: 7 Giant Slalom, Slalom 11 12 Departure

World Cup

  • Season 1990/91: 2 Super -G, 5 combination, 7 Giant Slalom
  • Season 1991/92: 5 combination
  • 1992/ 93: 10 combination
  • Season 1997/98: 3rd overall, 3rd Super -G, Giant Slalom 4th, 7th departure, 9 combination
  • Season 1998/99: 4th overall, 2nd Super -G, Giant Slalom 2nd, 7th departure
  • Season 1999/ 00: 6th overall, 5th downhill, Super-G, 7, 9 combination
  • Season 2000/ 01: 2nd overall, 2nd exit 4 Super -G
  • Season 2001/ 02: 1st overall, 1st exit, first Super -G, Giant Slalom 3
  • Season 2002/ 03: 1st overall, 1st exit, first Super -G
  • Season 2003/ 04: 2nd overall, 1st exit, third Super -G

World Cup wins

  • 29 wins (18 runs, 6 Super -G, giant slalom 5 )
  • 75 podiums (38 Downhill, 24 Super -G, Giant Slalom 13 )

Departure

Super -G

Giant Slalom

European Cup

  • Season 1988/89: 1st overall, 1st Giant Slalom, Super -G 4
  • 1995/ 96: 5 Departure
  • Season 1996/ 97: 1st overall, 1st exit, first Super -G, Giant Slalom 2nd
  • A total of 7 wins, 3x Second, 6x Third

Austrian Championships

  • Austrian champion in slalom in 1991

Awards

Slalom skiing Alpine skiing combined Winter Olympic Games FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1991 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2001 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2003 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2003 Alpine Skiing World Cup 2000 Alpine Skiing World Cup 1991 Alpine Skiing World Cup 1992 Alpine Skiing World Cup List of Olympic medalists in alpine skiing FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1993 Morioka, Iwate Aspen (Colorado) Sierra Nevada (Spain) 1998 Alpine Skiing World Cup Nagano, Nagano Crans-Montana 1999 Alpine Skiing World Cup FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1999 Vail (Colorado) 2001 Alpine Skiing World Cup Bode Miller 1993 Alpine Skiing World Cup Kvitfjell France Italy Wengen Beaver Creek Resort Bormio Chamonix Park City (Utah) Ofterschwang Stein Eriksen Roger Staub Jean-Claude Killy Heini Hemmi Ingemar Stenmark Max Julen Alberto Tomba Markus Wasmeier Benjamin Raich Carlo Janka Pirmin Zurbriggen Martin Hangl Lasse Kjus Patrick Staudacher Didier Cuche Christof Innerhofer Otto Furrer Anton Seelos David Zogg Rudolf Rominger Josef Jennewein Henri Oreiller Karl Schranz Ludwig Leitner Billy Kidd Franz Klammer Michel Vion Daniel Albrecht List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's champions Piero Gros Luc Alphand Marcel Hirscher Integrated Authority File
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