Mario Matt
DisciplinesSlalom, giant slalom, combined
ClubSC Arlberg – Tirol
Birth date9 April 1979 (age 47)
Birth placeZams, Tyrol, Austria
Height190 cm
Wcdebut21 December 1999
(age 20)
Retired12 March 2015
(age 35)
Websitemariomatt.com
Olympicteams2 – (2006, 2014)
Olympicmedals1
Olympicgolds1
Worldsteams8 – (2001–15)
Worldsmedals5
Worldsgolds3
Wcseasons16 – (2000–15)
Wcwins15 – (14 SL, 1 SC)
Wcpodiums42 – (1 GS, 40 SL, 1 SC)
Wcoveralls0 – (5th in 2007)
Wctitles0 – (2nd in SL, 2007)
Show-medalsyes

Mario Matt (born 9 April 1979) is an Austrian former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist.[1][2][3]

Slalom racing career

Born in Zams, Tyrol,[4] Matt made his World Cup debut in December 1999. He claimed 15 World Cup victories: 14 in slalom and one super combined. Matt is also a two-time world champion in slalom, with titles in 2001 and 2007.[5] With a remarkably long career as a top slalom racer, he is the second oldest (after André Myhrer, who won gold in 2018) to win an Olympic gold medal in slalom skiing (in Sochi at the 2014 Winter olympics)[1][2][3] and also the second oldest (after Dave Ryding) to win a (regular) World Cup slalom race.[6] Matt also has the third-longest time interval between first and last World Cup victories (13 years, 10 months, and 22 days), after Ingemar Stenmark and Didier Cuche.

Matt announced his retirement from ski racing on 12 March 2015.[7]

World Cup results

Season standings

SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
slalom
Super-GDownhillCombined
200020234————
200121173————
20022229837———
2003239135————
200424236————
200525296————
200626361623——32
2007275225——11
20082810415——29
20092929740———
2010308531————
201131204————
201232287————
201333216————
201434276————
2015359629————

Race victories

  • 15 wins – (14 SL, 1 SC)
  • 42 podiums – (40 SL, 1 GS, 1 SC)
SeasonDateLocationDiscipline
200023 Jan 2000Kitzbühel, AustriaSlalom
9 Mar 2000Schladming, AustriaSlalom
200119 Dec 2000Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom
200226 Nov 2001Aspen, USASlalom
200513 Mar 2005Lenzerheide, SwitzerlandSlalom
200714 Jan 2007Wengen, SwitzerlandSuper combined
25 Feb 2007Garmisch, GermanySlalom
4 Mar 2007Kranjska Gora, SloveniaSlalom
20086 Jan 2008Adelboden, SwitzerlandSlalom
22 Jan 2008Schladming, AustriaSlalom
17 Feb 2008Zagreb, CroatiaSlalom
200914 Mar 2009Åre, SwedenSlalom
201127 Feb 2011Bansko, BulgariaSlalom
6 Mar 2011Kranjska Gora, SloveniaSlalom
201415 Dec 2013Val d'Isère, FranceSlalom

World Championships results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 
Super-GDownhillCombined
2001211———2
200323DNF1————
200525DNF1———11
2007271———11
200929DNF1————
2011314————
2013333————
201535DNF1————

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 
Super-GDownhillCombined
200222injured: did not compete
200626DNF1———34
201030—————
2014341————

Business career

In 2009, Matt purchased the Krazy Kanguruh bar at the Arlberg resort St. Anton. He also runs a stable where he breeds Arabian horses.[8]

Personal

Matt is the brother of skicross competitor and Olympic silver winner Andreas Matt[8] and fellow alpine skier Michael Matt.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Etchells, Tim (22 February 2014). "Mario Matt holds on for gold, as Ligety blasts course". Ski Racing. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. ^ Pennington, Bill (22 February 2014). "Slalom champion sets an age record". New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. ^ Moore, David Leon (22 February 2014). "After fast start, Ted Ligety falls short in slalom". USA Today. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  4. ^ Arcobelli, Sergio (23 February 2018). "Cose da Matt, Micheal è di bronzo" (in Italian). ilgiornale.it. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  5. ^ "FIS-Ski - biographie". www.fis-ski.com. Archived from the original on 2004-11-26.
  6. ^ McKee, Hank (15 December 2013). "Matt becomes oldest man to win World Cup slalom". Ski Racing. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Mario Matt bids farewell". www.skionline.ch. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  8. ^ "How a Krazy Kanguruh keeps skiing great Mario Matt busy". CNN. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  9. ^ "Die Schachzüge der Matt-Brüder" [The maneuvers of the Matt brothers] (in German). nachrichten.at. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.