Alpine Skiing
Marcel Hirscher's new chapter: Skiing for joy, not trophies
Austrian ski star Marcel Hirscher retired from the sport back in 2019. Now, the living legend is back: the 35-year old reveals his ambitious quest to get back into racing under a new flag.
Marcel Hirscher, the renowned Austrian ski champion, retired five years ago, but now at 35 he's making a comeback. Hirscher has announced his return to competitive skiing this winter, and in a surprising move, he'll be racing for the Netherlands. "I'm super excited about it," he shared in a statement earlier this year. Hirscher's excitement is matched by his determination, as he outlined his detailed plan for returning to the slopes at a press conference in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. This winter, ski fans can look forward to seeing Hirscher back in action.
“I am quite satisfied with my physical fitness”, Hirscher says. “Strength and endurance training are much easier to integrate into everyday life. Of course, there are a lot of things missing from skiing: in the spring we ran out of snow training sessions, but then hardly any more because it was too warm.”
He'll be travelling to New Zealand in the next weeks where he wants to train and eventually race to collect FIS points on the board and become eligible to race in the Alpine Ski World Cup at some point again. In mid and late August, two slaloms and giant slaloms will take place in Coronet Peak.
Hirscher doesn't want to call it a comeback
Marcel Hirscher now competes for the Netherlands
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
When he retired at 30 in 2019, it was widely seen as the end of an era. And now, he says, his return to competitive skiing in the 2024 season shouldn't change that perception.
In a personal message to his fans, Hirscher put his comeback into a wider perspective. "For me a comeback is when you get injured and want to return to where you left off", he said. "My career [has been] over for five years." This time, Hirscher isn't returning to dominate. "For me it's now about balancing family, business and sport", he explains. "Now I have to demonstrate my multitasking talent."
Hirscher had been one of the most dominant athletes of his era, a once-in-a-generation serial winner, who won a record eight consecutive World Cup titles and a total of 67 World Cup races - as well as two golds medals for Austria on the biggest winter sports stage of all.
What has Hirscher been doing since his retirement?
Hirscher hopes VAN DEER - Red Bull Sports can take skiing to a new level
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Since his retirement at the pinnacle of his career, Hirscher has founded a new ski gear company, VAN DEER - Red Bull Sports, competed in extreme motorsport races like the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo - but most of all, he has stayed fit - and kept his enthusiasm for winter sports alive. In April 2024, he announced his return to skiing and claimed that whenever he is on slopes, he feels "at home".
Why is Hirscher skiing for the Netherlands?
Marcel Hirscher at the 2015 Hahnenkammrennen
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
Hirscher has had dual citizenship since he was born 1989 in Austria; his father is Austrian and his mother is Dutch. He's leaving the Austrian national team on good terms. He had "really good talks" with the Austrian and Dutch skiing associations and claims that all three parties agreed that it would be the easiest way to go forward with this project if he is skiing for the Netherlands. "For me personally, is was really important that I'm not taking away any resources from the young talents in Austria", Hirscher said in a statement. "I didn't want to be in the way of young athletes and the future of Austrian skiing." In the Netherlands, he is confident that he will not be taking anything away from anybody - but has a chance to "do a lot".
The second surprise return of the year
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen under the Brazilian flag
© Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool
In April this year, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen announced his return to alpine skiing for the 2024-25 season. The news follows his retirement in October 2023 just days before the start of the season opener in Sölden, Austria.
The 23-year-old, the 2023 Slalom World Cup Champion, has confirmed that he will resume his career while representing Brazil, having previously skied under the flag of his birth country, Norway.