Marco Odermatt exclusive: What I learned from Roger Federer
The Olympic champion in giant slalom reflects on his successful 2022 and explains why the tennis legend keeps inspiring him: "I will try my best to be humble as well, like he was," the 25-year-old told Olympics.com
Alpine Skiing
Success and fame haven’t changed Marco Odermatt a bit.
The Swiss alpine star capped off a stellar 2022 season with the overall World Cup title, a giant slalom globe and an Olympic gold medal in Beijing.
And after five races during the current campaign (two wins, two second places and one third spot), the 25-year-old looks the man to beat again for the big crystal globe.
“I think for me, as a person, it didn’t change anything,” Odi told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview just ahead of the season.
“The interest around me has become more for sure, but I think that’s very important to stay who you are and not to change too much.”
The humble and down-to-earth guy that first entered the senior skiing elite in 2016, has remained true to himself.
“It’s just the simplest and normal way for me to live my life. I feel just normal like this and I’m happy,” he admitted.
“I think a lot depends on how you grow up and how you’re raised by your family, although a small part of it comes from me.
“If you’re normal and if you can be yourself, it costs less energy than if you have to act like another person."
Odermatt: Taking over King Roger?
After the retirement of Roger Federer, the Olympic champion is one of the most famous Swiss athletes in the world.
“Nobody can ever fit into the big tracks he left, but I will try my best,” he said.
“On the worldwide scene, skiing has never been on the same stage [as tennis], but in Switzerland, I guess, the interest is nearly the same as tennis, maybe even more.
“It's really nice to have been in contact with him. I got to meet him twice this year, on a few shooting days as well as at the Laver Cup for a minute or two. He's just a nice guy and I already learnt a lot and I still can learn a lot from him.”
King Roger has always been a role model for him.
“I think in the past it was just like having the fun he has for his sport and [sharing] the emotions and the spirit he brought back home [watching] on the couch. He was a big motivation.
“And now, since I'm on a high level as well, I think it's just how he handled everything with all the guys who want something from him. And it's definitely not easy. I still don't feel like I'm doing it as easily as he did it for many, many years. But I will try my best to be humble as well like he was. And yeah, he's still a big inspiration.”
Odermatt: A champion’s mindset
Odermatt has been consistently performing at top level over recent years. .
Dominant in GS (where he’s collected seven wins in the last 12 months), the Swiss rarely misses the podium when competing in Super G and downhill.
“I think there’s no secret, it just worked this way,” he confessed, adding that when he was a kid, he struggled dealing with pressure. Something that doesn’t seem to affect him on the elite global stage.
“I ski for myself. I don't ski for anybody else." - Marco Odermatt
"I already had some great success. It started with the junior gold medals and then [I continued] with World Cup podiums and World Cup victories.
“I've already been farther than I thought I will ever be. Since last year, when I won the big things with the globes and the [Olympic] gold medal, for sure now I definitely don’t have to show anybody that I can ski. So for the future, it will be even easier to handle the pressure, I guess because I already achieved these things and I want to achieve more for sure.
“But if it will not work anymore, it's not that bad because I'm still Olympic champion and overall World Cup winner so everything I have gives me the confidence and the coolness, I guess, also for the next years.”
Odermatt: Maier and Bode are bigger names than me…for now
Odermatt’s multi-discipline talent drew comparisons to other greats in the sport such as Austrian legend Hermann Maier and former American ace Bode Miller.
“I don’t know if they mean the skiing or the party stuff,” the 25-year-old said laughing as he mentioned the “wild stories” he heard on the tour.
“Yes there are not many guys who were able to win in more disciplines. They are for sure bigger names than me for now, but I still have some years to go and it’s nice to be compared to them.”
Juggling GS, Super G and downhill is not an easy task even for the mighty Swiss.
“In summer you maybe have to train harder than others because I have more than 30 races from October till the end of March and I have to perform in each one of them. I nearly have no weekends off and nearly no time for recovery during the winter,” the Olympic gold medallist explained.
“On the other hand, you have to go easier with the preparation for each race and that helps you be more spontaneous and easy-minded on race day.”
Doing more disciplines also means not to put all your eggs in one basket when a major championship comes: “If one discipline doesn't work, you have still two others and this helps me on race day.”
Odermatt: A natural for speed
Already a top contender in the more technical events of GS and Super G, Odermatt is continuing to show a natural talent for pure speed events, which is surprising for his relatively young age.
Speedsters usually peak later in their career, after testing World Cup slopes for years, but Odi had already made downhill podiums on legendary tracks like Bormio, Wengen and Kitzbühel and this season has impressively mastered the challenging Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek and the East Summit in Lake Louise.
“I think I just like to race and just like to be fast in races and especially those classic races like Wengen or Kitzbühel,” he said.
“For me the coolest thing is to race there in front of an amazing crowd. And yeah, I think every skier likes to be fast and likes the speed and I have a very good team around me: the guys help me improve myself, be faster than others. And also with (the Olympic champion) Beat (Feuz), he helps me on inspections. We talk a lot about the track, the course. And like this, we can improve ourselves.”
But competing also in slalom is not in the Swiss’ mind, at least for now.
“If there were more combined events (downhill+slalom), I would definitely do them and also train a little bit more in slalom,” he admitted.
“But also next season, we don't have any World Cups in combined, there will just be the World Champs combined. I am not sure if I will do it yet, I will see. But I anyway have enough or even too many races, so I have to focus on them.”
Odermatt, quintessentially Swiss
The Beijing 2022 gold medallist has won in many places around the world, but his favourite place to ski remains his home resort of Elgenberg, an alpine village in the canton of Obwalden, in central Switzerland.
“We have perfect slopes, perfect for free riding as well, and people are nice. Yeah, it's just where I grew up, and that's the all of it,” confessed the reigning overall World Cup champion.
The bond with his own country is also reflected in his passion for local traditions.
“I love chocolate. I also love cheese, fondue especially. And yeah, I just love being Swiss,” he said.
“I guess I love our country. I love where I live. It's just wonderful nature. It's wonderful. Everything works in Switzerland, you know, there are nearly no problems.”
One of his favourite past-time during the summer is Swiss sawdust wrestling: “It's just a huge tradition. I know some Swiss wrestlers as well and I check the results on the news after every weekend” he explained.
“If you were there, you would feel it. There’s such a nice crowd as well. The spirit in this Swiss wrestling festival is just so easy, tranquilo, calm, and there’s so much tradition, everybody is drinking wine and eating cheese...”
Relaxed and calm, like Odi at the starting gate on race day.