Michi Matt

Born:    May 13th, 1993 in Bludenz/Vbg.
Residence:    Flirsch am Arlberg/T
Height/Weight:   1,86 m / 89 kg

Club:  SC Flirsch
Hobbies:  Hiking, Motorbike, Cycling, Riding

Career Highlights:
World Championships:  2x silver 2019 in Åre, 8th place – slalom 2017 St. Moritz
World Cup:  1st place – slalom 2017 Kranjska Gora, 2nd place slalom 2016 Levi, 2018 Zagreb & Adelboden, City Event 2018 Oslo, 3rd place – 2017 World Cup finals in Aspen.
Olympic Games:  Bronze at the Olympic Winter Games 2018 in Pyeongchang.

Just about a quarter of an hour away from St. Anton, the cradle of alpine skiing and mecca for skiers, I grew up in Flirsch in Western Tyrol. And yet it was not just the centre of my life, which predetermined my career as a ski racer, but also my brothers Mario and Andi. We are the only family in the world in which all siblings won medals at different Olympic Winter Games. Nevertheless, before clinching an Olympic medal, my journey to success was long and arduous. Ambition and determination just runs in our blood and in December 2009, while meeting the minimum age of 15 requirement, I took part in a FIS-Race for the first time.

More or less successfully, I participated in all disciplines at the beginning of my career, until I began to specialize in slalom and giant slalom. Two consecutive slalom titles at the Austrian Junior Championships in 2012 and 2013 proved me right and I was given the chance to start in Europa Cup Races in December 2011.

I made my World Cup debut on November 17th, 2013 in a slalom in Levi, Finland, where I unfortunately failed to finish the first run. Repeatedly dropping out during the 2013/14 season forced me to rise again and continue to train hard. Consequently, I gained a great deal of experience as well as low race numbers. Finally, I secured my first World Cup points at the Lauberhornslalom in Wengen on January 17th, 2015. I started 63rd and finished 16th. From this moment onwards, I knew that I could join the ranks of the world’s best.

Two months later, I gained my first Europa Cup podium by placing second at the slalom in Kranjska Gora. Despite having high race numbers and facing difficult slope conditions in the World Cup, I kept pushing forward steadily: a sixth place at the slalom in Naeba on February 14th, 2016 was followed by my first ever World Cup podium in Levi, Finland, where I grabbed a second place on November 13th, 2016. At the Alpine World Ski Championships 2017, I got an 8th place finish in the slalom with a 3rd place after the first run. This setback was soon forgotten, since I celebrated my first ever victory in a World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora only a few weeks later.

However, the absolute highlight of my career was to happen in Korea in the year 2018. At the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, I took a bronze medal in the slalom, when I moved from twelfth position onto the podium. Together with my team mates Stephanie Brunner, Manuel Feller, Katharina Liensberger, Katharina Gallhuber and Marco Schwarz, I secured my second medal in Pyeonchang after placing second behind the Swiss Team in the first ever team event at Winter Olympic Games.