The Thrill of the Hunt
In today’s alpine skiing, few athletes define the level like Marco Odermatt. Through consistency, clarity and quiet determination, he keeps moving the sport forward. There’s an instinctive pursuit in the way he skis, always looking for just a little more speed. A four-time Overall World Cup champion and still pushing.
You could say Marco Odermatt was born to ski. Hailing from the Nidwalden region of the Swiss Alps – an area steeped in ski culture and history, he grew up in a family of skiers. He was first put on skis at the age of two by his dad, who also coached ski racing at the local ski club and always kept a detailed log of Marco's days on the hill. Those beginnings set the foundation, but over the years, Marco has grown far beyond them.
It's no surprise that Marco became a dedicated student of the craft of skiing. He spent his childhood closely tracking the career of his Swiss idol Didier Cuche, road-tripping to watch World Cups around Switzerland, and putting in the work over the years to climb the ranks from devoted fan to competitor to World Champion. Still young, Marco is already one of the World Cup’s most established racers.
Sure, the strong foundation was there. But to say that he was born to be a world-class skier is to miss the magic of Marco. What makes Marco's skiing so thrilling, so gripping that you can't look away or help but smile when he flies down the track, is the fighting spirit he brings. Skiing pulses through his veins.
He skis on the edge, putting it all on the line.
He's fierce, agile, and technically strong, with cat-like reflexes he’s known to course-correct mid-air to adjust his line. He seems to spend half of his run floating, and when he's not airborne, he tears down the mountain with the sharpest point of his razor edges as the only thing keeping him connected to the earth.
And despite his extraordinary success, triumphs, and trophies, he always attacks each race with the intensity and aggression of an underdog. The laws of nature drive Marco, not the false assurances from his past successes.
It's the physics of every unique slope, the chemistry of the snow that day, the mindset of his competitors. Always smiling, with a laser-like focus, four turns ahead as he stalks his prey: time.
The results speak for themselves. Marco has earned over 89 World Cup podiums and 13 Crystal Globes in his relatively short career. He has won the Overall World Cup title 4 seasons in a row, dominating the Giant Slalom, Super G, and Downhill World Cups. In 2023, he broke the men's record for most points collected in a World Cup season, a record that still stands today. Marco is currently writing his part in alpine ski racing history.
