Dominik Paris: Downhill globe remains the biggest goal

It's hard to believe: At the beginning of December, Domme Paris will be entering his 16th World Cup season. It's been a long, long time since the Ultner competed in his first World Cup race in Val Gardena in December 2008. And it took him almost as long to celebrate his first victory on the Saslong. That was on December 16, 2023 - 15 years after his premiere.

"This story with Val Gardena and the Saslong is a special one," explains the winner of 22 World Cup races, who is now the second most successful South Tyrolean of all time after Gustav Thöni (he won 24 times). "When I was young, I always liked going to Val Gardena. It is a typical downhill run for athletes who can go straight very fast. That really benefits my abilities. But I had a really hard time for many years. I did come second (Super-G 2014) and third (Downhill 2014), but I also finished over 30 or even 40. The fact that it worked out so well for me last year, after I only came 2th in the Super-G two days earlier, was brilliant."

Especially since the super-inventor Dominik Paris, who never leaves anything to chance, already knew what to do on the Saslong: "You have to find the right balance between sensitive skiing and full attack. Understanding how to fully edge or let the skis run in exactly the right places is the biggest challenge."

Dominik Paris is one of the best downhill skiers of recent years. © www.redbullmediahouse.com / ASP Red Bull_5

The victory in Val Gardena was the only one last season. A season that the 35-year-old still considers to be outstanding. "If you consider where I was the season before, then I got myself out of a huge hole. I was completely unsettled, tried too hard, wanted to force everything. Last year I won the second downhill of the season in Val Gardena. It's just a shame that I then fell over in Bormio and the same mishap happened to me in Kvitfjell. That meant that the fight for the downhill globe was hopeless. It's a shame, because otherwise it would have been close in the fight with Odermatt and Sarrazin."

Dominik Paris won the 2019 crystal globe in the Super-G and also became world champion in the same discipline (also in 2019). But his hunger for success is far from satisfied: "The downhill globe remains my biggest sporting goal. And although some people no longer see it that way, I'm not going to give up completely. It's been bright in the downhill tunnel a few times, but it's never really been light at the end. But it remains my goal to continue to be at the top on all courses. I know that I can do it. But I also know that it won't get any easier because a lot of athletes can be very fast." “The downhill globe remains my biggest sporting goal.” dominik paris In the past, consistency was the biggest hurdle for Paris. He sees it that way himself: "It's the hardest path. You only need to fail twice and then it's all over, then you can't make up the missing points. Just focusing on individual races where you know you're among the fastest isn't that difficult. Always consistently finishing in the top 2 or top 3 - that's the biggest challenge. Beat Feuz has mastered that to perfection. That's what I work for, that's what I train for."

Speaking of preparation: As always, the Ultner completed it in the company of his fitness coach Mattias Schnitzer and his physiotherapist Luis Kuppelwieser. And he says: "I'm 35, so it's not getting any easier to push yourself, to push yourself beyond your limits. I still try to work very carefully and consistently. But logically I now need longer breaks to recover, and Luis has to treat me more and more often too." Especially since Paris focused exclusively on fitness training in the summer: 2 units a day, mainly strength in the morning, mostly endurance in the afternoon. These were hard, strenuous units that lasted up to 5 hours. Instead, the weekend belonged to the family with his partner Kristina and their 2 boys Niko and Lio.

It was only last August that Domme trained on snow for the first time, first in Ushuaia (Argentina), then in La Parva (Chile). "First I paid a lot of attention to technique, trained a lot in giant slalom, and only then did I focus on the speed disciplines." In recent weeks, the "Azzurri" downhill skiers were in the Alpin Arena Schnals, then on the Pitztal Glacier in North Tyrol, and recently the group has moved to the US state of Colorado, where the finishing touches are being put in Copper Mountain for the speed opening in Beaver Creek (December 6th and 7th). Domme does not see any difference between Super-G and downhill: "I want to pick up where I left off last season in the Super-G." That was 6th place in the final in Saalbach and before that 3rd place in Kvitfjell.

But it is a fact that Dominik Paris's big sporting dream is something else: the downhill globe, which he has been chasing for so long. And which is even more important to him than a World Championship medal. As a reminder: in 2013 he won downhill silver in Schladming, and in 2019 he became Super-G World Champion. And in 2025 there will be more title fights in Saalbach-Hinterglemm - it would be his 8th. But downhill crystal? That would be another league.

dominik paris Date and place of birth: April 14, 1989 in Merano Place of residence: St. Walburg in Ulten Sports group: Carabinieri

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Dominik Paris: Downhill globe remains the biggest goal

Dominik Paris will be chasing seconds again this winter. In an interview, the likeable Ultner talks about his illustrious career and the hunger for success that he still has.

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