Riding the Waves – Ups and Downs of a Career

Greatest Triumph

Olympia Games 2010

Ask any world class athlete about their greatest success and they will usually think of events like the Olympic Games or World Championships. With Andrea Fischbacher, who always aspired to become a ski racer in the league of paragons like Uli Maier and Renate Götschl, you don't have to ask twice: It's her triumph at the Winter Olympic Games 2010 in Vancouver (CAN), winning gold at the Super-G over Tina Maze (SLO) and Lindsey Vonn (USA).

Crossing the finishing line is still burned into Andrea's memory as an especially sweet highlight: "After I came to a halt I saw the '1' on the score board and thought: Who is first now? Me or ...?"
She had to turn around three times to believe it was her on top, although the favourite Lindsey Vonn had a seemingly perfect run.

But the sweetness of success often feeds off the bitter taste of disappointments ...

Bitter Moments

Olympia Games 2010

Only three days before crashing on to the Olympic stage with a bang, Andrea misses the downhill bronze medal by mere 3 milliseconds. Four days later, "Goldfish" Andrea even had to watch the Giant Slalom in Whistler from the sidelines.

Winter Olympic Games

Olympia 2006 Turin (ITA)

Ranked 13th at the Super-G

Olympia 2010 Vancouver (CAN)

Ranked 4th at the Downhill

Ranked 1st at the Super-G (Gold Medal)

Ups and Downs in 2007

Not making it on to the team's selection for the Super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Are (NOR) was another blow for Andrea. But soon after, she takes her very personal "revenge" and crowns an otherwise mixed season with a 2nd place at the Super-G at Lenzerheide (SUI). For the third time, she climbs the podium at a World Cup race.

Bronze Medal

at the World Championship

in Val d'Isere 2009

Two years after her World Cup triumph and a very emotionally charged third place at the Giant Slalom in Solden, Andrea bags her first World Cup bronze medal at one of the "big ones" (after being Junior World Cup Champion in the Super-G in both 2004 and 2005). At the Super-G in Val d'Isere, she comes in third after Lindsey Vonn (USA) and Marie Marchand-Arvier (FRA).

FIS Alpine World Championship

World Championship 2005 – Santa Catarina (ITA)

Ranked 7th at the Super-G

World Championship 2009 – Val d'Isere (FRA)

Ranked 3rd at the Super-G (Bronze Medal)

Ranked 7th at the Downhill

Ranked 24th at the Giant Slalom

World Championship 2011 – Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)

Ranked 9th at the Downhill

Ranked 25th at the Giant Slalom

World Cup Debut

Andrea starts her World Cup career as Junior World Cup winner. She is making her debut with the "seniors" on the Super-G in Sestriere (ITA), on March 11th 2004. After achieving a great split time, 19-year-old rookie Andrea unfortunately drops out of the race.

First Ranking among the Top Ten

A year later, Andrea comes out on top of the Eurocup overall ranking, repeats her victory at the Junior Super-G World Cup and ranks 8th at the Super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo (ITA) – her first top ten ranking. After coming in 7th at the Alpine Ski World Cup at Santa Catarina (ITA) as best Austrian, Andrea leaves no doubt that she is a force to be reckoned with.

Climbing the World Cup Podium

Once she got a whiff of World Cup air, Andrea was hooked and ready to fight on: During the season 2005/06 she ranks fifth at the World Cup Opening at Solden (Giant Slalom) and impressively proves her potential, conquering the podium at the Super-G twice (2nd in Lake Louise, CAN, and 3rd in Aspen, USA).

Of course, Andrea wanted to achieve more than that. But as the saying goes, it is much easier to get to the top than to stay there. What followed was a so-so World Cup season, with highs and lows taking turns like slalom gates. During the first seven races of the season, Andrea comes in fifth twice and five times fails to make the finishing line. It takes the whole season of 2006/07 for Andrea to finally taste the sweetness of success with a 2nd place at the Super-G in Lenzerheide (SUI).

First World Cup Super-G Win

The season of 2007/08 paints a similar picture. But Andrea grits her teeth and shows a great deal of stamina. Then, finally, she comes out on top of the Sestriere (ITA) Super-G ranking, 4 years after her World Cup debut.

First World Cup Win Downhill

Season 2008/09 sees Andrea fully concentrating on her main area of strength – speed. Her performance curve keeps stabilizing and she is now regularly ranking among the top ten, making it 5 times to the podium: once with bronze at the WC in Super-G in Val d'Isere, finishing second at the first downhill race in Bansko (BUL) and winning the second one. Andrea also takes the second podium at the Super-G in Lake Louise (CAN) as well as third place at the WC opening in Solden. As a result, Andrea also soars within the overall World Cup rankings.

St. Moritz – A Warning to Ms. Vonn

At its beginning, the Olympic season doesn't give a hint of the big things to come in February just yet, as Andrea only gets a late start into the training season on snow. She struggles with injuries and her equipment during preparations. Until the end of the year she only manages a single top-ten finish. But then the tide turns.

From January onwards, Andrea is on top of her game, achieving many top rankings and even a 2nd place in St. Moritz (SUI) behind Lindsey Vonn (USA). And then there are the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The rest is history. Just like her unfortunate fall in the season's last Super-G, Garmisch-Partenkirchen ... No risk, no fun!

World Cup Rankings

World Cup 2008/2009

10th in the World Cup overall ranking

8th in the World Cup Super-G ranking

2nd in the World Cup Downhill ranking

14th in the World Cup Giant Slalom ranking

20th in the World Cup Super Combined ranking

World Cup 2009/2010

10th in the World Cup overall ranking

5th in the World Cup Super-G ranking

15th in the World Cup Downhill ranking

17th in the World Cup Giant Slalom ranking