SafekipediaBenjamin Raich
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
Benjamin Raich (born 28 February 1978) is an Austrian former alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. He was known for his amazing skills and determination on the snowy slopes.
Throughout his career, Raich won 14 medals at Winter Olympics and World Championships. He also achieved 36 victories in World Cup races, excelling in all disciplines except downhill. His success included wins in the slalom, combined, and giant slalom World Cup events.
Raich’s performance earned him the highest score of career World Cup points, placing him ahead of other great racers like Norwegian Kjetil André Aamodt. Because of his incredible achievements, he is considered one of the best alpine racers in World Cup history.
Career
Benjamin Raich started skiing by winning Junior World Championships in slalom and giant slalom. He first raced in the World Cup in March 1996. He got his first win in 1999, in slalom.
In 2001, he won a 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.
As Raich got older, he got better at faster skiing events such as super-G and downhill. In 2005, he almost won the overall World Cup title but came second to American Bode Miller. At the 2005 World Championships, he won five medals, one in each race except for downhill.
Raich’s best season was in 2006, when he won the World Cup overall title and Olympic gold medals in slalom and giant slalom at the Turin Olympics. He was known for finishing near the top many times.
His last World Cup race win was in February 2012 in Swiss Crans Montana, where he won in super-G. In March 2014, he finished second in a giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora. His last top-three finish was in early March 2015 in a giant slalom race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
On September 10, 2015, he announced he was retiring.
World Cup results
Season standings
Season titles
Benjamin Raich won 9 titles: 1 overall, 2 giant slalom, 3 slalom, and 3 combined.
Individual races
He had 36 total wins: 14 slalom, 14 giant slalom, 1 super-G, and 7 combined.
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom | Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 20 | 96 | — | 37 | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 32 | — | — |
| 2000 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 2001 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 2002 | 24 | 9 | 19 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 37 | — | — |
| 2004 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 2 |
| 2005 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 1 |
| 2006 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 28 | 1 |
| 2007 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 32 | 5 |
| 2008 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 6 |
| 2009 | 31 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 32 | 5 |
| 2010 | 32 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | — | 1 |
| 2011 | 33 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 8 | 54 | 18 |
| 2012 | 34 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 31 | 12 |
| 2013 | 35 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 38 | — | 8 |
| 2014 | 36 | 20 | 17 | 6 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 37 | 28 | 23 | 9 | — | — | — |
| Season | Date | Location | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 7 January 1999 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom |
| 10 January 1999 | Flachau, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 17 January 1999 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 2000 | 26 February 2000 | Yongpyong, South Korea | Giant slalom |
| 18 March 2000 | Bormio, Italy | Giant slalom | |
| 2001 | 14 January 2001 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 21 January 2001 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| 23 January 2001 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom | |
| 11 March 2001 | Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 2002 | 21 December 2001 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom |
| 2004 | 3 January 2004 | Flachau, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 18 January 2004 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 27 January 2004 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom | |
| 2005 | 5 December 2004 | Beaver Creek, CO, USA | Slalom |
| 14 January 2005 | Wengen, Switzerland | Combined | |
| 2005 World Championships | |||
| 26 February 2005 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom | |
| 2006 | 21 December 2005 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom |
| 7 January 2006 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 13 January 2006 | Wengen, Switzerland | Super combined | |
| 22 January 2006 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Combined | |
| 3 February 2006 | Chamonix, France | Super combined | |
| 2006 Winter Olympics | |||
| 10 March 2006 | Shiga Kōgen, Japan | Slalom | |
| 17 March 2006 | Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom | |
| 2007 | 12 November 2006 | Levi, Finland | Slalom |
| 6 January 2007 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 23 January 2007 | Schladming, Austria | Slalom | |
| 2007 World Championships | |||
| 3 March 2007 | Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | Giant slalom | |
| 9 March 2007 | Kvitfjell, Norway | Super combined | |
| 18 March 2007 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 2008 | 9 December 2007 | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria | Slalom |
| 2009 | 7 December 2008 | Beaver Creek, CO, USA | Giant slalom |
| 12 December 2008 | Val-d'Isère, France | Super combined | |
| 10 January 2009 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 13 March 2009 | Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom | |
| 2010 | 11 December 2009 | Val-d'Isère, France | Super combined |
| 2012 | 25 February 2012 | Crans Montana, Switzerland | Super-G |
World Championship results
Olympic results
Personal
Benjamin Raich has a sister named Carina Raich who is also a ski racer. He is married to skier Marlies Schild, and they have three children.
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Benjamin Raich, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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