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When I started following the alpine world cup as a reporter ten years ago, it was at the peak of its power. Fantastic, supernatural, arrogant, unapproachable…those were just some of the words I used at the time to explain why I admired Herman Maier. His skiing was simply a step above anyone else’s, which he knew very well and he behaved accordingly. He was in perfect shape for the 2001/2002 Winter Olympics and was ahead of his competition during trainings. He was so good he was convinced that there were no boundaries that could restrain him. He confessed that in his autobiography “The Race of my Life”.
On the road at Radstadt, destiny showed him just how wrong he was. He was so strong that when the car crashed, he held on to the seat so hard with his legs that he tore it away and the force of the crash threw him out of the car with it.
In January 2003, I stayed at the same hotel in Wengen as the Austrian team. Maier had returned to the slopes just a week before in Adelboden and it was a mere coincidence that we sat fading each other at the breakfast table. I was used to his behavior so I politely greeted him and then turned my attention elsewhere.
I was surprised when he asked me what brought me to this alpine village in the middle of the Bern Alps. “I’m commenting your race for TV Slovenia”, I replied almost timidly. We exchanged a few more words on his initiative. On the way to my booth I realized, that the rumors are true: the Herminator has changed. The Robot has become more human.
During the other half of his amazing career his opinions often influenced the public. He helped the efforts to improve the safety of the skiers, he found time to take part in fundraisers, he showed a decent sense of humor and above all, Herman Maier showed some warmth.
Isn’t it funny how something bad has to happen for us to change the way we think and to look at life from a different perspective. To stop and try to find something good in the people around us and to come to terms with our own mortality. Since the crash Herman Maier is thankful for every day. Skiing was his dreams and that’s why saying goodbye was so hard for him. He left behind what’s dearest to him and even though, he won everything that could be won, he was swept over by emotions this Tuesday at Vienna. When he composed himself, he explained the reasons for his retirement and added that his friend Steffi isn’t pregnant and neither is he.
If anyone should ask why he was so successful, he will probably find the reasons in talent, hard work, iron will and the circumstances in which he worked. What I’d add to the list is his way of thinking: he once said “I came in second. I lost the race.” That is the mind of a true champion. The Herminator was never satisfied with anything but gold, but Hermann Maier during the second part of his career didn’t have anything to prove to himself or to anyone else.