Benjamin Raich
| — Alpine ski racer — | |
 Raich in January 2008 | |
| Disciplines |
Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined |
|---|---|
| Club | S.V. Leins Pitztal - Tirol |
| Born |
February 28, 1978 Arzl im Pitztal, Tyrol, Austria |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| World Cup debut | March 10, 1996 (age 18) |
| Website | Raich.at |
| Olympics | |
| Teams | 3 - (2002–10) |
| Medals | 4 (2 gold) |
| World Championships | |
| Teams | 8 - (1999–2013) |
| Medals | 10 (3 gold) |
| World Cup | |
| Seasons | 15th - (1999-2013) |
| Wins | 36 - (1 SG, 14 GS, 14 SL, 7 K) |
| Podiums | 88 |
| Overall titles | 1 - (2006) |
| Discipline titles | 8 - (2 GS, 3 SL, 3 K) |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Austria
| ||
| Men's alpine skiing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 2006 Turin | Giant slalom |
| Gold | 2006 Turin | Slalom |
| Bronze | 2002 Salt Lake City | Slalom |
| Bronze | 2002 Salt Lake City | Combined |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2005 Bormio | Slalom |
| Gold | 2005 Bormio | Combined |
| Gold | 2007 Åre | Team Event |
| Silver | 2001 St. Anton | Slalom |
| Silver | 2005 Bormio | Giant Slalom |
| Silver | 2005 Bormio | Team Event |
| Silver | 2007 Åre | Super Combined |
| Silver | 2009 Val d'Isère | Giant Slalom |
| Silver | 2011 Garmisch | Team Event |
| Bronze | 2005 Bormio | Super-G |
| Junior World Ski Championships | ||
| Gold | 1996 Hoch-Ybrig | Slalom |
| Gold | 1997 Schladming | Giant Slalom |
| Gold | 1998 Megève | Giant Slalom |
| Gold | 1998 Megève | Slalom |
| Gold | 1998 Megève | Combination |
Benjamin Raich (born February 28, 1978 in Arzl im Pitztal, Tyrol) is a champion World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Austria. With 14 medals won at Winter Olympics and World Championships, 36 World Cup race victories (in all disciplines except downhill), one first place and five second places in the World Cup overall ranking, three victories of the slalom World Cup, three victories of the combined World Cup, two victories of the giant slalom World Cup and the highest score of career World Cup points (ahead of Norwegian Kjetil André Aamodt) he is considered among the best alpine racers in World Cup history.
Career
After winning Junior World Championships in both slalom and giant slalom, Raich made his World Cup debut in March 1996. He scored his first victory in 1999, in slalom.
In 2001 he won the silver medal in Slalom at the World Championships, and at the end of the season he won the Slalom World Cup. In 2002 he won two bronze medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Raich, who became better at faster specialities such as Super-G and Downhill with age also, in 2005 barely missed out on the overall World Cup title, placing second to American Bode Miller. At the 2005 World Championships he won a total of five medals, one for each race except for the downhill.
He won the 2006 World Cup overall title in the most successful season of his career, as well as Olympic gold medals in slalom and giant slalom at the Turin Olympics.
Throughout his career Raich has been known for his consistency which led to him to second places in the overall world cup in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 (narrowly missing out the titles in both 2007 and 2009 by 13 points and 2 points respectively).
His sister Carina Raich also is a ski racer. Benjamin Raich is engaged to skier Marlies Schild.
World Cup results
Season standings
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom | Super G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 20 | 96 | — | 37 | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 32 | — | — |
| 2000 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 2001 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 2002 | 24 | 9 | 19 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 37 | — |
| 2004 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 2 |
| 2005 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 1 |
| 2006 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 28 | 1 |
| 2007 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 32 | 5 |
| 2008 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 6 |
| 2009 | 31 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 32 | 5 |
| 2010 | 32 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | — | 1 |
| 2011 | 33 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 8 | 54 | 18 |
| 2012 | 34 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 31 | 12 |
| 2013 | 35 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 38 | — | 8 |
Season titles
9 titles: 1 Overall, 2 Giant Slalom, 3 Slalom, 3 Combined
| Season | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Slalom |
| 2005 | Giant Slalom |
| Slalom | |
| Combined | |
| 2006 | Overall |
| Giant Slalom | |
| Combined | |
| 2007 | Slalom |
| 2010 | Combined |
Individual races
36 total: 1 Super G, 14 Giant Slalom, 14 Slalom, 7 Combined
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | January 7, 1999 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom |
| January 10, 1999 | Flachau, Austria | Giant Slalom | |
| January 17, 1999 |  Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 2000 | February 26, 2000 |  Yongpyong, South Korea | Giant Slalom |
| March 18, 2000 |  Bormio, Italy | Giant Slalom | |
| 2001 | January 14, 2001 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom |
| January 21, 2001 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| January 23, 2001 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom | |
| March 11, 2001 |  Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 2002 | December 21, 2001 |  Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant Slalom |
| 2004 | January 3, 2004 | Flachau, Austria | Giant Slalom |
| January 18, 2004 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| January 27, 2004 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom | |
| 2005 | December 5, 2004 |  Beaver Creek, CO, USA | Slalom |
| January 14, 2005 | Wengen, Switzerland | Combined | |
| 2005 World Championships | |||
| February 26, 2005 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant Slalom | |
| 2006 | December 21, 2005 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant Slalom |
| January 7, 2006 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant Slalom | |
| January 13, 2006 | Wengen, Switzerland | Super Combined | |
| January 22, 2006 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Combined | |
| February 3, 2006 |  Chamonix, France | Super Combined | |
| 2006 Winter Olympics | |||
| March 10, 2006 |  Shiga Kōgen, Japan | Slalom | |
| March 17, 2006 | Åre, Sweden | Giant Slalom | |
| 2007 | November 12, 2006 |  Levi, Finland | Slalom |
| January 6, 2007 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant Slalom | |
| January 23, 2007 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom | |
| 2007 World Championships | |||
| March 3, 2007 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant Slalom | |
| March 9, 2007 |  Kvitfjell, Norway | Super-Combined | |
| March 18, 2007 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 2008 | December 9, 2007 | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria | Slalom |
| 2009 | December 7, 2008 | Beaver Creek, CO, USA | Giant Slalom |
| December 12, 2008 | Val-d'Isère, France | Super Combined | |
| January 10, 2009 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant Slalom | |
| March 13, 2009 | Åre, Sweden | Giant Slalom | |
| 2010 | December 11, 2009 | Val-d'Isère, France | Super Combined |
| 2012 | February 25, 2012 | Crans Montana, Switzerland | Super G |
External links
- Benjamin Raich at the International Ski Federation
- FIS-ski.com – Benjamin Raich – World Cup season standings
- Ski-db.com - results - Benjamin Raich
- Raich.at - personal site
- Austrian Ski team - official site - Benjamin Raich - (German)
- Atomic Skis - athletes - Benjamin Raich
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Georg Totschnig |
Austrian Sportsman of the year 2006 |
Succeeded by Thomas Vanek |
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