Winter sports comeback from Hirscher
Austria’s best skier wants to ski for Holland
Status: 24.04.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Eight victories in the overall World Cup: Nobody is more successful than Marcel Hirscher
Those: dpa/Marco Trovati
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Marcel Hirscher is one of the best and most successful skiers in history. Five years after his resignation, the Austrian is probably planning a comeback – for his mother’s home country. He seems to have more than just sporting interests.
The highest natural peak in the Netherlands is the Vaalserberg. The summit towers 322.4 meters above the flat land. The Netherlands is not known for producing top skiers. This could change in the near future. Because one of the best skiers of all time could soon make his comeback and compete for the Netherlands.
Marcel Hirscher drove his last race in 2019. The native Austrian had previously triumphed 67 times in the World Cup, won two Olympic gold medals and won seven world championship titles. The 35-year-old is the only ski racer to have won the overall World Cup eight times in a row. But he doesn’t seem to be full yet. Five years after his retirement, he is planning his return to the World Cup, according to information from the Swiss newspaper “Blick” and the Austrian newspaper “Krone”.
Hirscher could soon be racing down the slopes in an orange racing suit
Quelle: dpa/Jean-Christophe Bott
Since his mother is native of the Netherlands, Hirscher could start for Oranje from next season. So he wouldn’t take away a starting place from anyone in Austria. The Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) has already agreed to the change of nation. “Of course we very much regret his decision to request a change of nation to the Dutch Ski Association, but in the end we also supported it,” said ÖSV General Secretary Christian Scherer. In the last few days, discussions have taken place with “various parties involved, in which we were informed that Marcel Hirscher could imagine re-entering the international ski circuit,” Scherer continued.
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According to “Blick”, Hirscher wants to collect ranking points in races in New Zealand in the coming months in order to qualify for the World Cup. His big goal is to take part in the World Championships in Saalbach, Austria, next February.
Hirschers Comeback als Marketing-Coup?
The slalom and giant slalom specialist, for whom a comeback for the Van Deer ski company he founded would also be a marketing coup, dodged questions about a possible comeback in the Kronenzeitung: “First I think to myself: ‘What!? Already five years!’ At the beginning I asked myself the really difficult question: ‘What do I do now?’ In the last two years I have found a good path, a great balance, in which I feel comfortable.” He “no longer feels like Austrian state property” but feels more valued by people. And that is a very nice feeling.
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The ÖSV tried very hard to offer Hirscher “the best possible and individual conditions” in the event of his return and were able to explain these to him in a personal exchange. But in appreciation of his previous achievements for skiing, his request for a change of association was unanimously granted.
