A thousand times... a lot has happened

For me personally, when I talk about legends, my experience usually only covers a small part of alpine skiing history. I grew up with the tail end of Hermann Maier's glorious career, and in my youthful recklessness, I tried Didier Cuche's iconic celebration twice. Of course, without success.

In the schoolyards of my era, names like Peter Fill and Werner Heel were spoken of with reverence – and also of the still-brilliant Dominik Paris and Christof Innerhofer. When, in the days leading up to the World Cup in Val Gardena, I came across the statistic that the 1.000th downhill race in World Cup history was to take place on the Saslong – which, incidentally, has hosted the second-highest number of downhill races in skiing history after Kitzbühel – I thought to myself: "This has to be commemorated emotionally."

Schieder is now right in the middle of it. And better suited to this than any dusty old schoolyard anecdotes are, of course, the insights of the gladiators themselves – and the origin of their fascination for this daring discipline. "I worked my way into it through the giant slalom. At first, I just went along for the ride in the downhill races," recalls Florian Schieder after his sixth-place finish in Val Gardena.

Florian Schieder on the Saslong. © APA/afp / STEFANO RELLANDINI

He's now a fixture in the men's speed skiing scene. His two second-place finishes on the infamous Streif in Kitzbühel in 2023 and 2024 cemented his personal legend. Schieder explains, "I always loved watching the downhills on TV. Then I thought to myself: I have to become a downhill skier, because nobody cares about the rest anyway," he says with a laugh. "Then the time finally came when I was allowed to compete in the World Cup – in training, then as a forerunner. Compared to the youth races, it was a completely different world," Schieder reminisces, adding, "Those first experiences were awesome." "Driving fast, jumping, having fun – that's what fascinates me." dominik paris Dominik Paris has competed in 139 of the aforementioned 1.000 World Cup downhill races – which are divided between men and women. That's almost 14 percent. For the skier from Ultental, it became clear relatively quickly that he wanted to pursue the fastest discipline in ski racing.

“I competed in my first FIS races in the Sarntal valley, then immediately won the junior championship,” the Ultner native notes. “Experiencing downhill skiing for the first time as a young lad – I simply loved it. Skiing fast, jumping, having fun – that’s what fascinates me.”

Innerhofer impresses himself Innerhofer, however, proves that it's not just speed that can be pushed to the limit. At 41, the 2011 Super-G World Champion is still competing on the big stage. His love for downhill skiing also goes way back: "Back then, what I always looked forward to most was coming home and watching Wengen," he emphasizes.

While he himself knows how to shine as a veteran these days, Innerhofer was once impressed by a veteran who had been written off. "When Paul Accola finished 13th in Kitzbühel at the age of 36, many people considered it a sensation. Then it's almost unbelievable when someone can still compete so well at 41." The downhill – completed a thousand times, a thousand times... a lot can happen.

football

Italy

International leagues

International

hockey

tennis

Winter sports

Learn More

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Favorites

A thousand times... a lot has happened

Gladiators, heroes in white, performers teetering between madness and even greater madness – there are many synonyms for the legendary guild of downhill skiers. Some may spin the myth of the fearless adrenaline junkies into even higher realms, but most descriptions are spot on.

Comments (0)