2024-02-16 16:04:08
So many crystal balls in one picture – and that’s not all of them that the two of them won.Image: keystone/watson
Marco Odermatt is rushing from win to win this season; at only 26 years old, he has already won (almost) everything there is to win. But will he manage to threaten the records of the most successful skier? We make a direct comparison with Marcel Hirscher.
The (previous) career in comparison
We start with a direct comparison of all the races that the two ski dominators have completed so far and focus on the milestones that have been achieved.
It is noticeable that Hirscher was able to gain a foothold more quickly in the World Cup, but Odermatt took things a step further last year. But what is also certain: The man from Nidwalden will have to maintain his current pace more or less over the next five years if he really wants to endanger Hirscher’s records. This also requires luck to get through the seasons without major injuries and, above all, the motivation to want to compete at the highest level for as long as possible.
Bild: watson.ch
Age at World Cup victories
Marco Odermatt was 22 years, 1 month and 29 days old when he won the Super-G in Beaver Creek on December 6, 2019 and was henceforth able to call himself World Cup winner. It took him 41 races to reach the top of the podium for the first time.
Compared to the most recent winners in the World Cup, Odermatt was a late bloomer. The youngest winner of all time is Piero Gros, who was just 18 years and 39 days old when he triumphed in the giant slalom in Val d’Isère in 1972. Marcel Hirscher was also significantly younger than the Swiss at 20 years, 9 months and 11 days (in the 38th race of his career).
Odermatt made up for the gap of over a year at the age of just over 25. Since the Swiss have their birthdays in October and the Austrians in March, they always celebrate their World Cup victories at different ages depending on the season. At currently 26.5 years old, the Nidwalden native is back in the lead. In order to defend his lead beyond the season, he has to achieve over 39 victories by March – so he still has to be on the top podium five times in the last nine races.
This is what it looked like at the end of last season:
World Cup points per season
Until his retirement in September 2019, Marcel Hirscher completed twelve full seasons in the World Cup. In his last eight World Cup winters he always won the overall World Cup.
What is also noticeable here: Hirscher got off to a better start to his career, Odermatt needed five winters to get up to speed. However, he has been driving so dominantly since his sixth season that he has always outperformed the Austrian in terms of World Cup points.
It certainly helps the Swiss that he competes in three disciplines, whereas Hirscher mostly focused on two. In his eighth World Cup season, Odermatt currently still has the chance to increase his points account with a maximum of 900 points in nine races (2x downhill, 2x super-G, 5x giant slalom). Last year’s record of 2042 points is wobbly, as it currently stands at 1506 points.
Hirscher won over 90 percent of his points in his favorite disciplines, slalom and giant slalom. At Odermatt, the points are distributed more evenly across three disciplines, even if the giant slalom is still clearly Nidwalden’s best division.
Podium places per season
There is also a similar picture when it comes to podium places: Hirscher has already been on the podium in his first few seasons – for the first time in his 10th race. It took Odermatt a little longer to get up to speed. However, he clearly dominated in the last two winters and has already surpassed Hirscher’s record of 19 podium places in the 2022/23 season with 22. It’s quite possible that the current season will be even better. The 26-year-old currently has 16 top-three finishes with nine races remaining.
Prize money per season
Finally, a gimmick. Since the prize money is increasing – as in almost all sports – Hirscher is at a disadvantage here because his career began almost ten years earlier.
The Austrian earned around 4.3 million francs in the World Cup alone during his twelve years. Odermatt currently has around 2.5 million, but the eighth season is still underway and he might well surpass his own prize money record of 822,400 francs from last year.
Celebrating also needs to be learned:
In the end, only one thing counts
It is still unclear whether Marco Odermatt or Marcel Hirscher will go down as the most successful skier in history. In the end, all the World Cup podiums and victories or even small crystal balls only count for a fraction.
What will most clearly determine the most successful skier is the number of overall World Cup victories. Hirscher has collected eight big balls in his career. He was 30 years old at his last triumph.
Odermatt will receive its third large crystal ball this year. He is also currently leading in the giant slalom, super-G and downhill disciplines. In two of the ratings it would almost have to go to hell if he didn’t win them. In the downhill, a close duel is shaping up for the last two races.
If the Swiss wants to at least draw level with Hirscher, he would have to win five more. Then he would be at least 31 years old. Hirscher resigned at 30.
We allowed ourselves a little gimmick. These are the busiest ball collectors in the World Cup (including if Odermatt wins all four possible disciplines in the current season).
Swiss ski cracks with 10 or more World Cup victories
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Swiss ski cracks with 10 or more World Cup victories
Alpine skiing is considered a Swiss national sanctuary. These were the most successful drivers in history.
what: keystone / jean-christophe bott
The emoji quiz with ski professional Marco Odermatt
Video: watson
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