Olympia 2018: Marcel Hirscher: This victory is more valuable than Olympic gold

Marcel Hirscher fulfilled the dream of Olympic gold already in the first race. In the alpine combination, the dominator of the last few years has been in a class of its own. What he had to say in the winning interview:

Question: When you crossed the finish line, you raised your arms and cheered slightly. How does it feel to be Olympic champion?

Marcel Hirscher: Nothing else. And I thought I had to do it, if I didn’t, it looks stupid. I was actually pretty hot at that moment. I thought you were kidding me. It was really hard to drive because of the wind. I thought to myself, stay cool, stay cool, stay cool. Just let the skis do what they always do, and don’t pull back. It’s been difficult.

Question: And how did it go with the waiting in the finish area?

Hirscher: I didn’t think it was that. But that’s the way I am. I think that’s how everyone would react in this situation. So don’t be happy about something too soon, because then it hurts twice as badly if it didn’t go.

Question: Did you expect that it will feel different to be Olympic champion?

Hirscher: No.

Question: But it’s all complete now.

Hirscher: Yes. That’s super. The question of the missing gold is now gone, which is the positive thing about it. My career was already complete for me. My career was already perfect after the first overall World Cup victory. That’s a lot more than I ever imagined. The fact that this works today is of course a major task. It’s impossible to put into words. But for me it doesn’t have as much value as winning in Schladming in front of 40,000,50,000 people. At home, at my home race, my home World Championship. We’re here somewhere, it’s not people and we’re just racing. Clearly, the idealistic value is of course indescribably great and much greater in its external impact. But today I’m just proud of myself when it comes to skiing. Especially the downhill run, I never thought it would happen.

Question: You said you could actually pack up and drive home. But your special disciplines are still coming…

Hirscher: Don’t worry, I’m not going home. But the big goal why I came here, I definitely achieved it for myself. I am super, super happy, it comes as a surprise. Of course, I definitely want to take the lead in the next two competitions, no question about that, but it’s the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing would have been for me to come home, and a perfect season would have been wiped out or a bad star would have been found, because the gold was missing.

Question: Was that a typical Olympic race where they say the circumstances were completely crazy?

Hirscher: Yes, it’s crazy. With all my other combinations, I think I needed more luck on my side than today. But of course I am also glad that we cut the departure time by twenty seconds. I don’t think the outcome would have been much different, but I certainly would have been harder to get the time. The heavy slalom has been on a very high level. Hard to drive, you’re insane! It was also not easy for the slalom racers to find the right line.

Question: Are you still going to get emotional with the anthem today?

Hirscher: I don’t know if that’s yet to come. I hope so, because otherwise it would be pretty boring (laughs).