Marco Odermatt has been winning one crystal ball after another for years. © APA / SEAN M. HAFFEY

Marco Odermatt and the burning question: How much longer?

Marco Odermatt is attempting to make history in the coming months: The Swiss ski racer wants to become the first ski racer to win four World Cup crystal globes in one season, three years in a row.

21 October 2025

From: apa/sn

Overall, downhill, super-G, and giant slalom – that was the haul in 2023/24 and 2024/25. "I think I've reached my peak as an all-rounder; I can't get any better," he said before this weekend's opening race in Sölden. At some point, the focus will likely shift to speed.

This season, every race, apart from the slalom, is still scheduled. Odermatt has celebrated 45 World Cup victories so far, and Sunday could mark his 46th. "I'm doing very well; I've been healthy all summer and was able to complete my program as I wanted," he emphasized recently at a media event in Vienna.

Marco Odermatt kicks off the new season in the Sölden giant slalom. © APA/afp / PATRICK T. FALLON

The race in Sölden traditionally begins with a giant slalom. Odermatt said he's probably lost some ground in this discipline recently due to the increased focus on speed. "When you want to improve in one discipline, you sometimes lose out in another. It's a fine line for an all-rounder."

Prospect of “a bit of air”

Currently, this fire, the urge to "always stay the same, even in terms of fitness," is still there. "As long as that's the case, as long as I notice in May that I actually feel like training again, then I don't have to worry." But Odermatt knows it won't last forever. "If something else happens, be it an injury or a family at some point, it will definitely be very difficult with the all-rounder program," said the 28-year-old, about whom a biography will soon be published and who is one of the main actors in the film "Downhill Skiers," which opens in cinemas on Thursday.

“I won’t do this for another ten years” Marco Odermatt

"To race every single weekend in winter is really very, very intense. I won't be doing that for another ten years," Odermatt said, giving an insight into his future plans. "Once you focus on two disciplines, just speed riding, it gives you a bit of breathing room in your planning and your career. You often have a few more days than I do at the moment to allow your body to recover better after a weekend."

Odermatt relies on carbon elements

The ski star doesn't see himself as having reached his limits in downhill and super-G yet. "There's definitely still potential for improvement in speed," said Odermatt. "Last winter, I improved in the long curves like in Val Gardena, Kvitfjell, and Crans-Montana." A key goal is to win the Kitzbühel downhill, which is still missing from his list of achievements. "That's one of my big dreams." Of course, the Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina are also the highlight of the winter for him. In 2022, he won gold in the giant slalom in Beijing, but he is still without an Olympic medal in the speed disciplines.

The fact that the International Ski Federation (FIS) has banned the carbon shin plates used by Odermatt due to the increased risk of injury is not an issue for him. He revealed that he and his equipment supplier "found a good solution." Specifically, the shin guard is now integrated directly into the boot – this is permitted under the new regulations.