Olympic Champion on Odermatt: "He Can Only Lose"
A demanding season, including a home World Championship in Crans-Montana, awaits Marco Odermatt. Carlo Janka can well relate to the pressure weighing on him.
Marco Odermatt has been the best skier in the world for years. His now five consecutive overall World Cup victories are an achievement that only Marcel Hirscher (eight times in a row) managed before him.
Accordingly, the pressure weighing on Odermatt year after year is naturally high. Carlo Janka shares this opinion – himself once an overall Ski World Cup winner (2009/10), as well as an Olympic champion and World Champion in giant slalom.
Janka states in an interview with "Blick" that Odermatt "actually has to make a winning run every time for us to be satisfied." "He can actually only lose," the former skier clarifies.
Home World Championship? "Medals Must Come!"
The fact that a home World Championship for Odermatt is also scheduled for 2027 in Crans-Montana naturally increases the pressure even further.
"The (Ed. note: WC) will be very important, and medals must come accordingly," says Janka, aware of the high expectations in Switzerland.
Janka: "The Body Gets Older, But..."
Janka says that Odermatt's dominance of the overall World Cup for years is "not a given." The 39-year-old hopes that Odermatt manages to ski at this level for even longer, because: "It's a joy to watch him."
Janka is not concerned that Odermatt was somewhat slowed down by an injury during preparation – nor is he worried about the high volume of races Odermatt completes each season.
"The body may get older at some point. But the experience grows, he knows how to manage himself better," Janka hopes to see Odermatt compete in downhill, Super-G, and giant slalom for a long time to come.
