Marcel Hirscher Wiki: Everything You Need To Know About The 2018 Winter Olympics Gold Medal Ski Racer

Marcel Hirscher was born on March 2, 1989, in Annaberg-Lungotz, Salzburg, Austria. The 29-year-old is 5 ft 8 in. and he made his World Cup debut in 2007 at the age of 18. He competes in the slalom and giant slalom events and is currently sponsored by Atomic, Raiffeisen, Audi, Komperdell, Energiapura, Picker, SkiAustria, UnderArmour, TechnoGym and Salzburgerland. When he is not ski racing, he enjoys racing cars. He began skiing at the age of 3 in his hometown of Annaberg, Austria. He owes his entry to the sport to the encouragement of his father. His parents owned a ski school in town and gave him a pair of skis. His father knew he would become successful, as he was the only young child who could make turns without falling. His first race took place at the age of six and his father is now one of his coaches, in addition to Michael Pircher, his national team coach. The 29-year-old is active on social media, and can be found at his Instagram account @marcel_hirscher.

Marcel Hirscher solidified his position at the top of the charts in slalom world athletes with his two gold medals at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. This, paired with his silver in slalom alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics and 122 total World Cup podiums over 12 seasons, makes him hard to beat as the current best alpine skier in the world. In addition to this, he won the giant slalom in Pyeongchang by a longshot. He was 1.27 seconds faster than anyone else in the field, which was made up of 109 of the best skiers in the world. No one has won by that large of a margin in the last 50 years. At this point, his only competition is the history books.

Marcel Hirscher put on an amazing showing at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, where he won two gold medals in Men's Giant Slalom and Men's Alpine Combined. In the slalom event, he was favored to take home another gold medal, but he crashed during his first run. The conditions were not favorable in Pyeongchang, with only 43 of 108 starters actually completing their runs. The second favored gold medal winner, Henrik Kristofferson of Norway, also failed to complete his run, and the gold medal winner in the slalom went to Andre Myhrer of Sweden who, at 35-years-old, became the oldest Olympic gold medal winner in slalom history. He also won a silver medal in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in the slalom event, and finished 4th in the giant slalom. He also participated in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, where he placed 5th in slalom and 4th in giant slalom.

Marcel Hirscher's net worth includes more than just Olympic glory. The gold medal ski racer's total podium count includes three Olympic medals (2 gold, 1 silver), 9 World Championship medals, 6 of which are gold, since 2009. His World Cup career spans 12 seasons and includes 57 wins, 122 podiums, 7 overall titles and 10 discipline titles. His 7th World Cup title came only a week or so after the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, on March 4, 2018. He dominated the competition, winning by over 1 second, which is considered a big gap in the sport. The second place finisher, Henrik Kristofferson, is Hirscher's closest rival in the sport. Hoever, Hirsher claims the future of the sport belongs to Kristofferson, as the Norwegian is only 23-years-old. After the intensive Olympic and World Cup schedules, the skier claimed he was going to celebrate by taking a week off. The ski racer has also been named Austrian Male Sports Personality of the Year in 2012, 2015 and 2016. In addition, he won Best Male Athlete from Europe at the 2017 ANOC Awards.

Given the amount of success Marcel Hirscher has achieved and the years he has spent on skis, twenty-five to be exact, this ski racer has been fortunate not to have had too many injuries during his career. In a February 2011 World Cup race in Hinterstoder, Austria, the skier fell during a the giant slalom and fractured the navicular bone in his foot. In 2015, his was nearly hit by a falling drone in the middle of a race. It almost hit the back of skis, but unfortunately, it did not end up hitting him or his skis. Weighing 15 kilos, it would have done serious damage if it had hit him on the head. His biggest injury came in August 2017, when he broke his left ankle while straddling a slalom gate during his first practice for the upcoming World Cup season. He missed three months of World Cup competitions. According to his Instagram posts, he managed to stay upbeat and positive during his recovery.