Matthias Mayer

Matthias Mayer (German pronunciation: [maˈtiːas ˈmaɪɐ]; born 9 June 1990) is an Austrian retired World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic champion.

Career

Born in Afritz am See in Carinthia, Mayer made his World Cup debut in Sestriere in February 2009. His best discipline is super-G. After several top ten finishes, his first World Cup podium came at Kitzbühel in a super-G in January 2013.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Mayer won the downhill to become the seventh Austrian gold medalist in the 18th edition of the event. Joining him on the podium at Rosa Khutor were Christof Innerhofer of Italy and Kjetil Jansrud of Norway. Immediately after the Olympics, he had two podium finishes in Norway, and a victory at the World Cup finals. He won his second Olympic gold medal in 2018 in the super G.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Mayer won the bronze medal in the downhill and successfully defended his title in the super G. With three Olympic titles in addition to a bronze, he is Austria’s most decorated Olympic alpine medalist.

On 29 December 2022, Mayer shocked the ski racing community when he announced his immediate retirement at 32 years old, just hours before a super-G race in Bormio he was scheduled to start. He finished his World Cup career with 11 wins and 45 podium finishes in 13 seasons.

Personal life

Mayer's father is Helmut Mayer (b.1966), the silver medalist in the first Olympic super-G in 1988; he also won a silver medal at the World Championships in 1989, in the giant slalom at Vail.