“Last season was fantastic for me. I managed to get into the top ten in the giant slalom five times and I was even on the podium twice. That’s something I hadn’t thought possible at the beginning of the season, and the summer was just as positive for me. I trained hard and well with Swiss Ski and even managed to get a few days off for the necessary physical and mental rest, thanks to good scheduling and support from my team. Recently, I've been asked lots of times, sometimes even with rather a euphoric tone, about my goals for the 2019/2020 season. Sure, you can always ask :-)

It’s already been a number of weeks since my last ski day. Partly, of course, because spring is slowly arriving, but also because, as you probably know, my ski season had to be cut short due to my (slight) knee injury. The timing of this mild tear to the meniscus of my right knee could actually have been worse. I only missed the Swiss Championships on the Stoos and Hoch-Ybrig and, in fairness, a few worthwhile training and practice days.

But in the last few weeks of the ski season, I was anything but bored. My weekly programme was filled almost to the brim with lots of physio appointments and sponsor events. I was able to attend cool events like the Stöckli Day or the Wings for Life World Run, get involved and gain some fantastic lasting impressions as a result.

I was able to gain a really strong footing in the World Cup this season thanks to my excellent team (Swiss Ski, my suppliers, service man, physios and management) as well as ongoing support from my sponsors. I had set myself the realistic goal at the beginning of the season of establishing myself in the top 30 in the giant slalom, my specialist discipline, so I’m overjoyed and still pinching myself a bit today to be able to say that I am actually number 7 in the giant slalom World Cup starting list. I’m nevertheless still keeping my feet very firmly on the ground. 

Two Central Swiss giants join forces: Titlis Cableways will be supporting Marco Odermatt as a premium partner for the next four years. We chatted to CEO Norbert Patt.

Mr Patt, with 1.2 million guests per year, Titlis Cableways needs no further introduction to visitors to the Marco Odermatt website. But perhaps you can share the recipe for your commercial success?

The Longines Family continues to grow with the entry of the Swiss Alpine skier Marco Odermatt. The young athlete from Canton Nidwald, born on 8 October 1997, notably won five gold medals in the Alpine Combined, Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom and Team Event at the 2018 FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Davos, Switzerland. This impressive performance, together with the two medals he claimed in the 2016 event (gold in Giant Slalom and bronze in Super-G), made him become the second most successful male junior in history.