Marco Schwarz: Balancing four events during the 23/24 Season

Marco Schwarz Photo: GEPA pictures/ Johannes Friedl

Marco Schwarz has had a tight schedule recently, and things won’t get any easier this winter for the seventh-ranked skier in the 2022/23 overall World Cup. The 28-year-old Carinthian returned home from a five-week training camp in South America on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday at 10 a.m., he appeared in front of the media as part of a sponsors event in Vienna. There, all-rounder Schwarz, considered one of the significant challengers to overall World Cup winner Marco Odermatt, reported on his approach to the coming season.

Schwarz, the alpine combined world champion of 2021, is among the world’s best in all disciplines. During the 2022/23 season, he delivered top-six finishes in downhill, super-G, slalom and giant slalom. At the World Championships in Courchevel/Meribel, he won silver in the alpine combined, bronze in the giant slalom, narrowly missed out on a medal, 4th in the downhill, and finished sixth in the slalom and the super-G. This summer, rumors circulated in the Austrian media that the Carinthian planned to compete in all the World Cup races next winter. At the press conference in Vienna, Schwarz slightly qualified this intention.

Schwarz reported that his training days in South America – two weeks with the speed specialists and almost three weeks with the slalom and GS team – were very positive. His preparation underlines that the Austrian will remain a multi-event threat this winter. Schwarz said he would compete in all World Cup races until Christmas. That will include four giant slaloms, four downhill races, three slaloms and one super-G. And then? An initial evaluation will take place at that time. “At Christmas, I’ll see which direction things will go. Whether I can complete in all the races this winter will be difficult. We will see then whether things will continue on the technical or speed side.”

“With a minimum of 43 World Cups scheduled this season, it is about ensuring I still have ‘enough matches’ towards the end of winter,” said the Austrian. Wanting to compete in all disciplines is very time-consuming in terms of training and even though he enjoys the speed events, he wants to pay attention to the technical disciplines.

“Challenges on new race slopes will be good for me,” said Schwarz, referring to the races in Gurgl (slalom) and Zermatt (downhills). “I’m looking forward to Zermatt. Nobody has experience there yet, which could suit me, who has little speed experience.” Schwarz also looks forward to the World Cup finals in Saalbach-Hinterglemm on the 2025 World Championship home slopes.