FILE PHOTO: Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Giant Slalom - Alta Badia, Italy - December 21, 2025 Switzerland's Marco Odermatt in action during the first run. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
Jan 7 (Reuters) - In a sport where races are decided by the tiniest of margins and injury is never more than a heartbeat away, domination is unusual -- which makes Swiss racer Marco Odermatt's reign as the king of men's Alpine skiing all the more remarkable.
The 28-year-old will arrive at the Milano Cortina Olympics as the most complete ski racer of his generation and red-hot favourite to embellish a career laden with trophies and records.
Odermatt has been the overall World Cup champion for the past four seasons, during which time he has also topped the giant slalom standings four times, the super-G three times and has twice won the downhill globes.
By his standards he ended 2025 in slightly disappointing fashion, missing the podium in World Cup races in Alta Badia and Livigno, but he remains streets ahead of the field.
Odermatt chalked up his 50th career World Cup win in the downhill at Val Gardena in December and reached the turn of the year with a huge lead in the overall World Cup standings after five victories -- two in downhill, two in giant slalom and one in super-G.
That downhill victory in a fog-affected race in Val Gardena was only his sixth in downhill, whereas he has 28 in giant slalom -- the event regarded as the purest of all disciplines.
Odermatt has gone on record as saying he does not have any dreams left to pursue in ski racing, having already achieved more than he could ever have imagined when he first took to the slopes at the Hergiswil Skiclub near his birth town of Stans.
However, the chance to add to the one Olympic gold he took in giant slalom at the Beijing Games four years ago will drive him on, and one title in particular, the downhill, is tantalising.
He has made no secret of shifting focus to the speed disciplines this season.
"As an all-rounder, I've probably reached my peak," he told Skiracing.com earlier this season.
"Last winter, I became stronger in downhill. Because that feeling improved, I lost a bit in giant slalom.
"But if you want to get better in one area, you sometimes have to give something up in another. There's more room for growth in downhill and super-G."
Considering he won the World Cup downhill title last season, that was an ominous warning to the likes of Swiss team mate Franjo Von Allmen and Italian Dominik Paris -- two of his main rivals in the speed disciplines.
Odermatt could not wish for a grander stage for his gold medal hunt in February with the men's Alpine skiing programme taking place on Bormio's famed Stelvio, a venue where he has won two World Cup super-G races and was runner-up in a downhill two years ago.
"The Stelvio is not just one of the most difficult tracks, but the most difficult course," he said. "It's a challenging slope, and I enjoy racing there.
"The downhill race is the most iconic event (at the Olympics). Of course, winning a gold medal is one of my goals, and I will go for it."
Odermatt is already Switzerland's most-decorated male skier, having surpassed Pirmin Zurbriggen's 40 World Cup wins last year, and should he win the Olympic downhill it would cement his status in the Alpine nation's sporting hall of fame alongside the likes of Roger Federer.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
