Hirscher, a year after the farewell of the myth: now there is more space for everyone, but his show is missing

On 4 September 2019, Marcel announced his farewell to skiing after making history with 8 consecutive World Cups. An unattainable record for anyone.

Friday 4 September 2020 5 minutes reading time

One year after the farewell of a legend, the man who, despite closing his career at "only" 30 years old (although it is certainly not the only case in the world of skiing, especially in recent history), has signed record after record and a primacy, that of the eight absolute crystal spheres, and in a consecutive manner, which will remain engraved forever. It was a Wednesday evening, shortly after 8.00 pm of that 4 September 2019 in which, at the Gusswerk center in Salzburg, Marcel Hirscher announced his farewell to skiing and competition on live TV, more than 12 years after his debut in World Cup, almost 10 since his first victory in the giant in Val d''Isère. He left as an absolute winner, as only the great champions have been able to do: perhaps with the fear of not being able to keep that extraordinary level shown for almost a decade for a long time, perhaps because objectively there was no longer left to win. nothing, or perhaps because the priorities had become other, with the birth of the baby of the family and his wife Laura to claim a different life, away from the spotlight that prevented Marcel from even drinking a coffee outside the home. It is no coincidence that, since that day of the announcement, Hirscher has slipped away giving very few interviews and not appearing in public (except for a project with ORF for a TV program on holidays in Austria), having fun with his motorcycle cross (together with his friend and champion Matthias Walkner) and never really thinking about returning to the track, as many have tried to hypothesize at home in Austria, also considering the crisis that clearly hit the entire Wunderteam in the first post season was Hirscher. There are those who talked about more fun races without the Salzburg champion, certainly more open and full of surprises, those of a lower level considering the balance that reigned supreme with so many surprises and a World Cup winner who has took home the crystal ball with only one stage success. What is certain, Marcel Hirscher led all his opponents to raise the level, Pinturault and Kristoffersen in the first place, so much so that the same athletes in the white circus defined Annaberg's '89 class era as the one that "made us taken to another dimension ”. The most beautiful victories of Hirscher, leaving aside the Garmisch giant in 2015 won with 3 ”28 ahead of the first rival, the six consecutive pearls on the Gran Risa and ... all the rest, were perhaps precisely those of the last two seasons also because they are seasoned with out-of-the-ordinary numbers, such as those of Campiglio (slalom) and Adelboden (in giant) rising practically from the ground, those who know how to ignite the hearts of enthusiasts, despite the coldness and glacier eyes of the “GOAT”. Did he retire too soon? Perhaps, but with the awareness that he would leave an indelible mark on the history of world sport. Because the era of Marcel Hirscher, numbers in hand, will not be replicable for a long, long time ...

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