Skiing
Marco Odermatt is on the hottest streak in the history of skiing
The all-discipline, world championship skier is a major contender at home in Switzerland, and across the globe.
Part of this story
It's very difficult in the world of sport to declare any one athlete the GOAT, but with records in giant slalom, super-G and downhill, 28-year-old Marco Odermatt is pretty close to taking the title. The alpine skier is arguably the most complete skier of his generation, with an astonishing 88 World Cup podiums to his name.
With plenty of years left in his career, Odermatt’s only getting better, too. During the 2024-25 season, he won the downhill World Cup overall, the Super-G World Cup and World Championships double, the GS World Cup title and an incredible fourth-straight FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup overall crown.
Swiss star Marco Odermatt is a Super-G world-beater
© Erich Spiess/Red Bull Content Pool
In other words, the guy’s on a pretty unbeatable winning streak. As he gears up for Milano 2026, here’s a guide to his victorious career so far.
01
Born on the slopes
Growing up in the mountains around Buochs, Switzerland, Odermatt spent his childhood racing towards victory – all under the tutelage of his skier parents, who he still thanks every time he bags a prize or hoists a trophy.
It officially started at the Skiclub Hergiswil, where enthusiastic, if raw, young skiers still go to be coached to love the slopes and master their technique. Odermatt took to it like a duck to water, or a Swiss to snow. By his 10th birthday, he’d been invited to join the youth squad of the prestigious Nidwalden Ski Association.
02
Warming up
By the age of 19, in 2016, Odermatt packed a bag and set off to represent Switzerland at the Junior World Championships in Sochi. Determined to put his best ski forward, he grabbed the bronze medal in super-G, and, amazingly, the gold in giant slalom. The medals earned him the right to make his World Cup debut in the giant slalom in St. Moritz that year. Unfortunately, Odermatt couldn’t quite manage a podium there, but he had firmly announced his presence on the world stage.
In 2019, Marco Odermatt became a World Cup winner
© Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull Content Pool
Like an avalanche barreling downhill, his career quickly picked up speed. In 2018, he won an unprecedented five gold medals at the Junior World Championships in Davos. His first World Cup podium came at Kranjska Gora in March 2019, followed by his first WC gold in December of the same year in a super-G at Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Marco Odermatt was officially on his way.
03
On a hot streak
Marco Odermatt pushes himself to the limit in the speed races
© Red Bull Content Pool/Joerg Mitter
Still in his early 20s, Odermatt was suddenly faced with a huge amount of international attention and pressure to succeed. Another athlete could have let it go to their head, but Odermatt kept his cool. “The only one who is putting me under pressure is myself,” he said. “Life is a game, play it!” is his motto.
He stayed focused, with four podium finishes in January and February 2020, and back-to-back World Cup wins at Austria and Slovenia in March of that season. Later in the season, he victoriously grabbed his very first win in giant slalom in Santa Caterina, while coming second in overall World Cup titles.
04
Dreams accomplished
Marco Odermatt is the fastest man on the Streif
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
The next season, he bagged seven race wins and the overall giant slalom season titles, achieving a childhood dream of winning the giant slalom in Adelboden. He wasn’t finished dreaming yet: the same year he represented his country at the 2022 Winter Olympics, a massive honour in and of itself. Taking home the gold was the icing on the cake, as was claiming the fastest time in the first run, and beating his nearest competitor, Slovenian Žan Kranjec, by 0.19 seconds.
Odermatt’s unstoppable ascent continued the next season when he set a new record for overall men's points in a World Cup season with an astonishing 2,042, and, tying with legends of the sport for 13 wins in a WC season – beating a record set by the legendary Hermann Maier way back in the 1999-2000 season.
The Swiss skier finds that maintaining a winning streak is largely about mindset. “In the days leading up to a race, I gradually shift into racing mode,” Odermatt says. I mentally shut out everything around me, focus on my bubble and leave my emotions aside – that’s how I transform myself into a beast.”
The joy of victory is something Odermatt achieved 13 times this season
© Erich Spiess/Red Bull Content Pool
Thirteen isn’t quite the number of the beast, but it proved to be Odermatt’s lucky number; he returned in 2024 to set 13 giant slalom victories, while also claiming the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup overall title and giant slalom crystal globe for the third year in a row. This truly was peak performance, and, balanced on high, it seemed that no one could dislodge the young Swiss legend from his throne.
“I don’t have any dreams left,” Odermatt admitted in a recent interview. “When I started my career, I never imagined I could win so much. All of my dreams have come true.”
Fun facts
05
The view from the peak
This year didn’t quite see the same record-breaking form as 2023-24, but then again, very few athletes have ever had a run quite as successful as Odermatt’s in those years. He did, however, claim his first Super G World Championship gold, and his fourth successive overall Crystal Globe and Giant Slalom discipline globe. "I just won my fourth Globe in a row in GS, so that was definitely something I can be happy about and not be sad about second,” Odermatt said after winning in Hafjell, Norway. “I'm very happy with the race.”
The same year, he capitalised on his success to star in the action-packed ski racing documentary Downhill Skiiers: Ain't No Mountain Steep Enough. It’s a motto Odermatt seems to live his life by. “I think any athlete wants to get better. You set yourself goals and you know you have to work hard to achieve them – whether it’s a specific race, a record, or even the perfect run. I guess you can call it the pursuit of excellence. That’s a big driver. And then you have your competitors that help bring out the best of you. I thrive on the competition aspect and love when we can push each other,” Odermatt said when asked what keeps pushing him towards greatness.
Downhill Skiers: Ain’t No Mountain Steep Enough
Get an insight into the emotional and psychological worlds of elite alpine skiers during the 2024/25 season.
With the 2026 season underway at Milano on the horizon, Odermatt still has some ambitions left, some goals to work towards. He may claim to have achieved his dreams, but when you dream big, there’s always a new challenge on the horizon.
“The downhill race is the most iconic event [at Milano],” he said. “Of course, winning a gold medal is one of my goals, and I will go for it.” Should he achieve it, he’ll join another exclusive club, joining four of his countrymen in the downhill gold medal club: Bernhard Russi, Pirmin Zurbriggen, Didier Défago and Beat Feuz.
Will Marco Odermatt join the downhill gold medal club?
© Lorenz Richard/Red Bull Content Pool
Not that victory is assured. “The Stelvio is not just one of the most difficult tracks, but the most difficult course,” he said, referring to the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, where the event will take place. “It’s a challenging slope, and I enjoy racing there.”
Whatever happens, Odermatt is sure to put on a show unlike any other.
Part of this story
