Matthias Mayer facts for kids
| Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mayer in January 2014
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| Disciplines | Downhill, super-G, combined, giant slalom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club | SC Gerlitzen – Kärnten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 June 1990 Afritz am See, Carinthia, Austria |
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| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 22 February 2009 (age 18) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 29 December 2022 (age 32) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | matthiasmayer.at | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 – (2014, 2018, 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 4 (3 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 5 – (2013–2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 – (2011–2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 11 – (7 DH, 3 SG, 1 AC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 45 – (22 DH, 22 SG, 1 AC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 – (4th in 2020 and 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 0 – (2nd in DH, 2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Matthias Mayer (German pronunciation: [maˈtiːas ˈmaɪɐ]; born 9 June 1990) is a famous alpine ski racer from Austria. He is known for winning three gold medals at the Winter Olympics, which is a huge achievement in the world of skiing! He competed in exciting races like downhill and super-G. Matthias retired from the sport in 2022.
Contents
Ski Racing Career
Matthias Mayer was born in Afritz am See, a town in Carinthia, Austria. He started his journey in the World Cup (a series of top ski races) in February 2009, when he was just 18 years old. His favorite and best race was the super-G. He quickly started finishing in the top ten in many races. His first time on the podium (finishing in the top three) was in January 2013 at a super-G race in Kitzbühel.
Olympic Champion
Matthias became an Olympic champion at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He won the gold medal in the challenging downhill race. This made him the seventh Austrian skier to win gold in this event! He shared the podium with skiers from Italy and Norway.
He continued his amazing Olympic journey by winning his second gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, this time in the super-G event.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Matthias won another gold medal in the super-G, successfully defending his title! He also earned a bronze medal in the downhill race at the same Olympics. With three gold medals and one bronze, Matthias Mayer is Austria's most successful Olympic alpine skier ever!
Retirement
On December 29, 2022, Matthias surprised everyone by announcing he was retiring from ski racing. He was 32 years old. He ended his World Cup career with 11 wins and 45 times on the podium, showing how successful he was over 13 seasons.
Personal Life
Matthias comes from a family of skiers! His father, Helmut Mayer, was also a very good alpine skier. Helmut won a silver medal in the first-ever Olympic super-G race in 1988. He also won a silver medal at the World Championships in 1989.
Olympic Results
Matthias Mayer's amazing results at the Winter Olympics:
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 23 | — | 6 | DNF | 1 | 13 |
| 2018 | 27 | — | — | 1 | 9 | DNF2 |
| 2022 | 31 | — | — | 1 | 3 | — |
World Cup Race Victories
Matthias won 11 World Cup races during his career: 7 in Downhill, 3 in Super-G, and 1 in Combined. He also reached the podium 45 times!
| Season | |||
| Date | Location | Discipline | |
| 2014 | 12 Mar 2014 |  Lenzerheide, Switzerland |
Downhill |
| 2015 | 21 Feb 2015 |  Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria |
Downhill |
| 22 Feb 2015 | Super-G | ||
| 2017 | 20 Jan 2017 | Kitzbühel, Austria |
Super-G |
| 2018 | 14 Mar 2018 |  Åre, Sweden |
Downhill |
| 2020 | 1 Dec 2019 |  Lake Louise, Canada |
Super-G |
| 17 Jan 2020 | Wengen, Switzerland |
Combined | |
| 25 Jan 2020 | Kitzbühel, Austria |
Downhill | |
| 7 Mar 2020 |  Kvitfjell, Norway |
Downhill | |
| 2021 | 30 Dec 2020 |  Bormio, Italy |
Downhill |
| 2022 | 27 Nov 2021 | Lake Louise, Canada |
Downhill |
See also
In Spanish: Matthias Mayer para niños
