 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Hermann Maier" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
.jpg) Hermann Maier during the Austrian Sportspersonalities of the Year awards in November 2009. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1972-12-07)7 December 1972 (age 52) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Downhill,super-G,giant slalom,combined | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | USCFlachau –Salzburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 10 February 1996 (age 23) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | October2009 (age 36) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | hm1.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 2 (1998,2006) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 4 (2 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 6 (1999–2009) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 6 (3 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 12 (1997–2001,2003-2009) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 96 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 4 (1998,2000,2001,2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 10 (2DH, 5SG, 3GS) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hermann Maier (born 7 December 1972) is an Austrian formerWorld Cup championalpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup titles (1998,2000,2001,2004), twoOlympic gold medals (both in1998), and threeWorld Championship titles (1999: 2, and2005). His 54 World Cup race victories – 24 super-G, 15 downhills, 14 giant slaloms, and 1 combined – rank third on the men's all-time list behindIngemar Stenmark's 86 victories andMarcel Hirscher's 67 victories. Until 2023 he held the record for the most points in one season by a male alpine skier, with 2000 points from the 2000 season. From 2000–2013 he also held the title of most points in one season by any alpine skier, untilTina Maze scored 2414 points in the 2013 season.
Maier did not initially enjoy much success in ski racing. As a 15-year-old at theSchladming ski academy, he was sent home after being told he would not succeed because of his slight build, caused by growth impairments. He returned home to his hometown ofFlachau and his father's ski school, which remains Maier's home. He took up work as a bricklayer in the summer and a ski instructor in the winter.
Participating in local races, Maier became a multiple regional champion inSalzburg andTyrol, but still was not able to gain a spot in the strong AustrianWorld Cup ski team. Putting that behind him, his outstanding talent was recognized for the first time by Austrian coaches on 6 January1996, when he was timed with the 12th fastest time in a World Cup giant slalom in Flachau, although only starting as a forerunner, not participating in the actual competition.[1] This would become the starting point of his international career. Through his result in Flachau he gained the attention of the ÖSV (Austrian Ski Federation) and only two days later he started in his firstEuropa Cup race inLes Arcs and finished in second place. He won his next race at the same location the day after. Although the Europa Cup season started in mid December and he joined late, so he wasn't starting in all races, he won the overallEuropa Cup title, as well as the season title in giant slalom.[2][3]
Maier made hisWorld Cup debut at age 23 on 10 February1996, and finished 26th in thegiant slalom atHinterstoder, Austria. A year later in February1997, he won his first World Cup event – asuper-G race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He quickly established himself as an explosive and dynamic racer, well known for his strength, willingness to take risks, and strong work ethic.
Maier soon dominated alpine ski racing, winning the gold medal in thegiant slalom andsuper-G at the1998 Winter Olympics inNagano, only a few days after a dramatic crash in thedownhill race where he flew spectacularly off the sunlit course, landed partially on his head, tumbled head over heels several times, and crashed through two layers of B-netting. Despite the horrible look of the crash, Maier was able to walk out under his own power. That put him on the cover ofSports Illustrated magazine and made him a well known sportsman around the globe. Maier won the overall World Cup title in1998, as well as the super-G and giant slalom season titles, and placed second in the downhill standings.
In2000 he won the overall World Cup title, as well as the season titles in downhill, super-G, and giant slalom. He had a dominating performance, setting the then most point garnered by an alpine skier, of 2000 points. This record stood untilTina Maze scored 2,414 points in 2013.[4]
He won the overall World Cup title in2001, as well as that season's titles in downhill, super-G, and giant slalom. He won 13 World Cup races, but settled for two medals (silver and bronze) in the speed events at the2001 World Championships inSt. Anton. He was the reigning world champion in both events, won in1999 atBeaver Creek,Colorado.
His racing career nearly ended following a near-fatal motorcycle accident on August 24, 2001; he collided with a car on his way home from a summer training session in Austria. Doctors nearly amputated his lower right leg, but instead Maier underwent massivereconstructive surgery. Most believed his racing career was over, and he had to sit out the2002 season, missing the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City. He returned to international competition in January2003 inAdelboden, Switzerland, and two weeks later won asuper-G title in the skiing-mecca ofKitzbühel, Austria.
In2004, his first full season back, he reclaimed both the super-G and overall titles — the latter being his fourth — and received the Laureus World Sports Award for the "Comeback of the Year".
Reflecting his apparently indestructible nature, he is sometimes jocularly known as "The Herminator." After his1998 Olympic gold medals inNagano he also appeared onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno onNBC – together with Austrian-born actorArnold Schwarzenegger, who is known worldwide as "The Terminator".[5]
In 2004, Maier wrote an autobiography with his friend and former publicity agent, Knut Okresek. The book,Hermann Maier: Das Rennen Meines Lebens (in German), dealt mainly with his recovery from the 2001 motorcycle accident. In 2005, VeloPress, aBoulder, Colorado-based publisher affiliated withSki Racing magazine, acquired the worldwide English language rights to the book, which was published in time for the2006 Olympics inTurin, Italy, asHermann Maier: The Race of My Life.
In October2005, he won the opening giant slalom inSölden to amass 51 victories in theWorld Cup. This placed him fifth on the career victory list, behindIngemar Stenmark,Lindsey Vonn,Annemarie Moser-Pröll, andVreni Schneider.
On 20 June 2007, Maier announced he was switching toHead as his equipment sponsor, ending his long affiliation withAtomic. Also switching from Atomic to Head at this time were championsBode Miller of the U.S. andDidier Cuche of Switzerland.
On 18 January2008, Maier finished second in theKitzbühel's super-G, behindMarco Büchel and in front ofDidier Cuche for a total podium age of 104 years. His career results in the super-G races at Kitzbühel are the best in history (7 races: 5 wins and 2 second places). The following day, Maier finished fifth in the downhill. These were his best results of the2008 season.
Maier won the first super-G of the2009 season, held inLake Louise, for his 24th super-G win. It was his 54th World Cup victory, but the first in nearly three years, and came a week before his 36th birthday. It was Maier's fourth victory in the super-G at Lake Louise, the last coming five years earlier.
Maier announced his retirement in 2009 after thirteen years of competing in the World Cup circuit.[6]
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Overall |
| Super-G | |
| Giant slalom | |
| 1999 | Super-G |
| 2000 | Overall |
| Downhill | |
| Super-G | |
| Giant slalom | |
| 2001 | Overall |
| Downhill | |
| Super-G | |
| Giant slalom | |
| 2004 | Overall |
| Super-G |
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 23 | 106 | — | 52 | 34 | — | — |
| 1997 | 24 | 21 | — | 15 | 4 | — | — |
| 1998 | 25 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1999 | 26 | 3 | — | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 2000 | 27 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2001 | 28 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 2002 | 29 | injured in August 2001 in a motorcycle accident, out for entire season | |||||
| 2003 | 30 | 45 | — | — | 19 | 25 | — |
| 2004 | 31 | 1 | — | 17 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 2005 | 32 | 3 | — | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2006 | 33 | 6 | — | 8 | 2 | 7 | 42 |
| 2007 | 34 | 19 | — | 16 | 6 | 18 | — |
| 2008 | 35 | 21 | — | 30 | 10 | 16 | — |
| 2009 | 36 | 26 | — | — | 4 | 21 | — |
Downhill[edit]
Giant slalom[edit]
| Super-G[edit]
Combined[edit]
|
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 26 | — | DNF2 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 2001 | 28 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 2003 | 30 | — | — | 2 | 8 | — |
| 2005 | 32 | — | 1 | 4 | 17 | — |
| 2007 | 34 | — | 21 | 7 | 13 | — |
| 2009 | 36 | — | — | 18 | 6 | — |
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 25 | — | 1 | 1 | DNF | — |
| 2006 | 33 | — | 3 | 2 | 6 | — |
Maier also won an all-around sports competition, the 2001 edition of the AmericanSuperstars competition and he frequently acts in TV adverts for his sponsor bankRaiffeisen. His brother,Alexander Maier, also represented Austria at the Winter Olympics.[7] Maier rode theprologue of the2003 Tour de France ahead of the main field, completing the 6.5 kmindividual time trial in 8 minutes 44 seconds, compared to 7 minutes 26 seconds for stage winnerBradley McGee and 8 minutes 26 seconds for the last cyclist.[8]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
