Golden memories

ÖSV Olympic hero makes an emotional return to China

Alessandro Hämmerle was crowned Olympic champion in snowboard cross in Secret Garden in 2022.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Marco BERTORELLO)

On February 10, 2022, snowboard cross racer Alessandro "Izzi" Hämmerle beat Canada's Eliot Grondin in a photo finish at the Olympic Games in Beijing and crowned his career with the gold medal. Almost three years later, the man from Vorarlberg is now returning to China after overcoming back problems - with special feelings.

"I think the emotions and memories will come flooding back when I return to the place I left almost three years ago as a newly crowned Olympic champion," admitted Alessandro Hämmerle, shortly before boarding the China Airlines Boeing 777 in Munich on Wednesday afternoon, which was to take him non-stop to Beijing. "I'm still not the biggest fan of traveling to China. But I'm excited to see what it's like there, without the stress of the Games and without corona."

Alessandro Hämmerle beaming with his 2022 Olympic gold medal.

(Bild: AFP)

Five-day training camp on the gold slope
From Beijing, it's straight on to the Secret Garden Resort, just under 200 kilometers away. "That's where we raced for the medals in 2022," recalls "Izzi". "This year, we'll have a five-day training camp there. Then we'll head back to Beijing and take the high-speed train to Beidahu, where two World Cup races are scheduled for early February."

Change in technique for the benefit of the back
The first since the season opener on December 14 in Cervinia. There, however, the 32-year-old Hämmerle had to miss the race - severe back pain caused by a slipped vertebra made it impossible for him to compete. "It's much better now. However, I haven't moved much outside my comfort zone yet," reveals the Montafon native, who at least completed an initial stress test during a three-day course run by the ÖSV team in the World Championship venue of St. Moritz (Sz). "I had to make some changes to my technique to make the back work. It's already working quite well. But sometimes I still fall back into the old pattern - and I can feel it straight away."

In this respect, the 49-day World Cup break was not at all inconvenient for the army athlete. However, he can also take some positives from the calendar in general. "I see the race in December as a trailer for the season and now it's really getting going," says the Gaschurn native. "I think it will also be easier for fans to follow if they feel like they have two races every weekend now and it goes on until the beginning of April."

Sufficient TV time and more continuity
TV times are also an important point in his eyes. "There are so many highlights in December and January in the alpine sector alone. It's not easy to find time on Austrian television," says the three-time overall World Cup winner. "What's more, there's no point in scheduling lots of races in December that can't take place because there's no snow. That's why I'd rather we didn't start until the beginning of February and have continuity."