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Searching for wins For Maier, past success can't override current mentality
Updated: Sunday February 11, 2001 1:00 PM
Hermann Maier 's a skiing great. It's just that at the World Championships in his homeland, he didn't have the mentality to match. His teammate Mario Matt said as much. "Mental strength is what is needed to win," claimed the newly crowned men's slalom world champion. "Good physical condition doesn't mean anything if you are not mentally strong." So while Austrian idol Maier was blaming his lack of gold medal success at St. Anton on the pressures of media, sponsors and hugely-expectant fans, Matt was blocking out the fact he was the local hero expected to deliver on the last day of the championships. Matt can't have any absolute comprehension as to the enormity of the pressure on Maier, whose pretty much Austria's Michael Jordan. But the 21-year-old with the bleached blonde hair and pirate earrings has a point about the psychological aspect of Maier's downfall. The Herminator was terminated in his three events, losing his titles in the downhill and Super-G and finishing out of the medals in the giant slalom. He said he was close to winning each time and "didn't do badly." He did have a silver and bronze to show for his efforts after all. But he couldn't believe for one second that an explanation like that would satisfy the alpine-mad Austrians. For heaven's sake, they even hated him smiling in acceptance of defeat after his opening Super-G loss to American Daron Rahlves. Their golden king only won bronze. Losing the Midas magic is no time to beam. Maier knew all along that this would be a circus of an event for him. He left the mayhem to hole-up in a quiet retreat mid-championships, so he could focus in the job in hand after his Super-G loss. Didn't work too well either did it? Perhaps he should have embraced the chaos after all.
The world alpine championships are as big as it gets in the sports world in Austria. He's as big as it gets in the sports world in Austria. Heck, why fight it? Italian icon Alberto Tomba never did and it didn't seem to hurt him. Oh, of course the golden touch will return. Maier's as good as won the men's overall World Cup title already. Next year he'll be a favorite for more Olympic gold. But right now, right there in St. Anton, right there in Austria, that's of scant consolation to his rabid supporters. This was the grand home occasion in which he would turn his two golds from the last worlds into a glittering hat trick. Instead, there were other Austrian heroes - none greater than Matt, who triumphed on the very Fang Piste where his grandfather once herded cattle. In the nearby town of Flirsch, Matt was sure he wasn't going into the family business. He had a few ins-and-outs with which to contend. A World Cup winner on home snow in Kitzbuehel in just his third race, Matt also became the skier with the highest start number at 47 ever to win a slalom. Just days later in another Austrian resort, he won again in front of a deliriously happy crowd at Schladming.
Now he's a world champion, with a silver in the bag from the combined for good measure, and the most-decorated skier of the championships alongside Norwegian veteran Kjetil Andre Aamodt. Once again he did it in front of the home folk. Super Mario is the new golden boy of Austria. Matt explained: "The most important thing -- especially when competing at home -- is to be able to switch off from all outside influences when you're in the start hut." Shame he didn't mention that to Hermann. Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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