For an athlete in ski racing, it’s always about measuring yourself against the best by hundredths of a second both in competition and in training, and both developing individually and optimizing not only your performance but also the whole package of materials, supervision, and sporting and private life.
Last season, so much came together just right – there was little missing… – to achieve one of the greatest ambitions of a downhill skier.
Even though I’ve been skiing since the age of about 2 and already enjoyed some great successes as a junior, least season opened up a whole new dimension of the sport for me in all its facets. I learned how, at world class level, it is not only factors I’m unable to influence as an athlete that are decisive, but ultimately the little details.
Marco Odermatt and Robert Trenkwalder, Global Head of Athletes Special Projects (ASP) Red Bull.It’s quite clear to me that, if you want to reach the absolute pinnacle in your sport, you have to be prepared and open to exploring innovative paths, measuring yourself against the best and always developing and optimizing the whole package. In the next few years I will be the first Swiss downhill skier to have the privilege of wearing the Red Bull helmet.
Red Bull, my premium partner to date, is now my main sponsor as of today. I’m really looking forward to the collaboration.
A decisive factor for me was not only the professional team structures, the extensive expertise and the know-how of Swiss Ski with my new main sponsor Red Bull, but also the opportunity to use one of the world’s most modern and innovative competitive sports centres in Salzburg, along with additional individual supervision and other optimizations in terms of logistics. For years now, Red Bull has had a department of its own focused on Alpine skiing, which is named ASP (Athletes Special Projects) and addresses the individual needs of each athlete.
Together with the existing professional team structures and the support of Swiss Ski, the partnership with Red Bull also offers me optimum conditions for sporting success looking forward to the Olympic Games in Beijing. I will of course continue to train with the Swiss Ski team. The good team spirit, great camaraderie on and off the piste and of course also playing cards, are further success factors that I would not want to miss out on in the future.
