Benjamin Raich
Raich in March 2017
Personal information
Born (1978-02-28) 28 February 1978
Arzl im Pitztal, Tyrol, Austria
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesSlalom, giant slalom, combined, super-G, downhill
ClubS.V. Leins Pitztal – Tirol
World Cup debut10 March 1996 (age 18)
Retired10 September 2015 (age 37)
WebsiteRaich.at
Olympics
Teams4 (2002–2014)
Medals4 (2 gold)
World Championships
Teams9 (1999–2015)
Medals10 (3 gold)
World Cup
Seasons18 (1998–2015)
Wins36 (14 SL, 14 GS, 1 SG, 7 AC)
Podiums92
Overall titles1 (2006)
Discipline titles8 (3 SL, 2 GS, 3 AC)
Medal record
International alpine ski competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 0 2
World Championships 3 6 1
Total 5 6 3
World Cup race podiums
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Slalom 14 11 13
Giant 14 10 11
Super-G 1 5 2
Downhill 0 0 0
Combined 7 3 1
Parallel 0 0 0
Total 36 29 27
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Turin Giant slalom
Gold medal – first place 2006 Turin Slalom
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Salt Lake City Slalom
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Salt Lake City Combined
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Bormio Slalom
Gold medal – first place 2005 Bormio Combined
Gold medal – first place 2007 Åre Team event
Silver medal – second place 2001 St. Anton Slalom
Silver medal – second place 2005 Bormio Giant slalom
Silver medal – second place 2005 Bormio Team event
Silver medal – second place 2007 Åre Super combined
Silver medal – second place 2009 Val-d'Isère Giant slalom
Silver medal – second place 2011 Garmisch Team event
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Bormio Super-G
Junior World Ski Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Hoch-Ybrig Slalom
Gold medal – first place 1997 Schladming Giant slalom
Gold medal – first place 1998 Megève Giant slalom
Gold medal – first place 1998 Megève Slalom
Gold medal – first place 1998 Megève Combination

Benjamin Raich (born 28 February 1978 in Arzl im Pitztal, Tyrol) is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. 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, both times behind Svindal).

His last World Cup race victory came in February 2012 in Swiss Crans Montana, where he won his first and only World Cup victory in super-G. In March 2014, he reached the podium for the first time in more than two years by finishing second (after Ted Ligety) in a giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora, the same place where he also won his first top-3 result more than 15 years earlier (in January 1999). His last top three finish came in early March 2015 in a giant slalom race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen that came to be one of his final races in the alpine world cup.

On September 10, 2015, he announced his retirement.

World Cup results

Season standings

SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
slalom		Super-GDownhillCombined
19982096—37———
199921107632——
200022964———
200123414———
2002249192———
20032586837——
2004263348352
2005272116261
20062813115281
20072921313325
2008302823366
200931210214325
2010322634—1
20113311151985418
20123412161373112
20133520181638—8
20143620176———
20153728239———

Season titles

9 titles: 1 overall, 2 giant slalom, 3 slalom, 3 combined

SeasonDiscipline
2001Slalom
2005Giant slalom
Slalom
Combined
2006Overall
Giant slalom
Combined
2007Slalom
2010Combined

Individual races

36 total: 14 slalom, 14 giant slalom, 1 super-G, 7 combined

Season Date Location Race
19997 January 1999Schladming, AustriaSlalom
10 January 1999Flachau, AustriaGiant slalom
17 January 1999Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom
200026 February 2000Yongpyong, South KoreaGiant slalom
18 March 2000Bormio, ItalyGiant slalom
200114 January 2001Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom
21 January 2001Kitzbühel, AustriaSlalom
23 January 2001Schladming, AustriaSlalom
11 March 2001Åre, SwedenSlalom
200221 December 2001Kranjska Gora, SloveniaGiant slalom
20043 January 2004Flachau, AustriaGiant slalom
18 January 2004Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom
27 January 2004Schladming, AustriaSlalom
20055 December 2004Beaver Creek, CO, USASlalom
14 January 2005Wengen, SwitzerlandCombined
2005 World Championships
26 February 2005Kranjska Gora, SloveniaGiant slalom
200621 December 2005Kranjska Gora, SloveniaGiant slalom
7 January 2006Adelboden, SwitzerlandGiant slalom
13 January 2006Wengen, SwitzerlandSuper combined
22 January 2006Kitzbühel, AustriaCombined
3 February 2006Chamonix, FranceSuper combined
2006 Winter Olympics
10 March 2006Shiga Kōgen, JapanSlalom
17 March 2006Åre, SwedenGiant slalom
200712 November 2006Levi, FinlandSlalom
6 January 2007Adelboden, SwitzerlandGiant slalom
23 January 2007Schladming, AustriaSlalom
2007 World Championships
3 March 2007Kranjska Gora, SloveniaGiant slalom
9 March 2007Kvitfjell, NorwaySuper combined
18 March 2007Lenzerheide, SwitzerlandSlalom
20089 December 2007Bad Kleinkirchheim, AustriaSlalom
20097 December 2008Beaver Creek, CO, USAGiant slalom
12 December 2008Val-d'Isère, FranceSuper combined
10 January 2009Adelboden, SwitzerlandGiant slalom
13 March 2009Åre, SwedenGiant slalom
201011 December 2009Val-d'Isère, FranceSuper combined
201225 February 2012Crans Montana, SwitzerlandSuper-G

World Championship results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombinedTeam event
1999205DNF2———not run
2001222DNF2———
20032449———
200526123—12
2007284DNF1——21
200930DSQ225—DNF1cancelled
201132——4—52
201334139——DNF2—
201536DNF1DNF1————

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
20022334——3
2006271121—DNF
2010314614—6
201435DNF17———

Personal

His sister Carina Raich also is a ski racer. Benjamin Raich is married to skier Marlies Schild. They have three children together.

See also

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