Felix Neureuther speaks in a podcast about bitter experiences at the beginning of his alpine skiing career. One has to do with the Olympics in Italy.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – What hasn’t Felix Neureuther won and celebrated successes in his career? The now 40-year-old from Garmisch won 13 individual World Cup victories and won silver in the slalom at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria.
Felix Neureuther: Formative experience at the 2006 Olympics in Turin
In 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 the Upper Bavarian came second in the Slalom World Cup, and in 2013 and 2015 he also came fourth in the overall World Cup. This makes him one of the most successful German ski racers in history. Even if it was never enough to win gold at a World Championship or at the Olympic Games, as was the case with Schlierseer Markus Wasmeier in Lillehammer in 1994 in the giant slalom and the Super-G.
In the podcast “Mensch, Büchel”, which is available on Spotify, Neureuther talks about a formative experience in connection with the Olympics. Specifically: It was about the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, when the future ski star was still 21 years old.
Felix Neureuther: Winter sports star provides insights in podcast
“For me, the two most defining moments in my career were the ones where I was hit the hardest. Those were the most important moments for me,” explains Neureuther in the podcast and confirms: “Those weren’t the victories at all, but the moments that shaped me into what I became afterwards.” One of these moments was “the Olympics Games in Turin 2006,” he describes and reports an explosive detail: “I was taken with me even though I hadn’t qualified.” That’s how he qualified for the Olympic squad – two placements in the top 15 or one in the top 8 – narrowly missed.
At that time, Neureuther achieved eleventh place and one 17th place. Nevertheless, there were probably discussions about his nomination. “There was a huge outcry in Germany. Also from other athletes, why is he being taken along just because he is the son of and so on. This whole story. “That’s what you don’t want to hear at that moment,” explains Neureuther, who is the son of double Olympic champion Rosi Mittermaier (two gold medals in Innsbruck in 1976), who died in 2023. And the former ski racer Christian Neureuther.
I didn't want to leave the house anymore. Because I was afraid that people would look at me and say: Look, there he is!
Felix Neureuther in the podcast “Mensch, Büchel”
Felix Neureuther: Alpine ski star no longer dared to leave the house in Garmisch
In the run-up to the Turin Games, he says, it was always said: “He will only be taken because he is the son of. Just because he is the son of. Because the parents have the relationships and so on. This has also come up within the team from other teammates. They felt treated unfairly.” After all, the Winter Games didn’t go well for him at all. “I was taken along to gain experience. And I really failed twice. I didn't get far, not in the first two rounds. Slalom and giant slalom. And I really got hit on the lid. And rightly so,” he explains on “Mensch, Büchel”.
And further: “In hindsight, I would have preferred not to go there. I just didn't deserve to go there at that moment. With the backstory. I would have liked to have saved myself that moment. But I believe that the moment was extremely important.” He went through a really difficult but at the same time “extremely important time” after his return to Bavaria, he says: “I didn’t want to leave the house anymore. Because I was afraid that people would look at me and say: Look, there he is! It was like this. At 21.” And yet Neureuther really took off with his winter sports career afterwards.
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