Catching up with Sochi medalist Innerhofer

Christof Innerhofer during his spring travels. Facebook

Three World Championship medals and two Olympic ones make Christof Innerhofer one of the most successful skiers at big events in recent years. He took a moment out of his packed summer schedule to chat with FISAlpine about what he has been up to this summer and what his plans are for the upcoming season.

What have you been up to since the end of the season?

Since the end of the winter I have been invited [to] and attended some prestigious award and spent some time with my sponsors with whom I had various commitments. I also attended the Armani fashion show with Fernando Llorente from Juventus, swimmer Luca Dotto and actor Chris Pine. On top of that I did some photo shoots and spent a weekend with football player Alessandro Del Piero with whom I work for the Save the Dream charity. To keep things interesting I also went to watch the “Internazionali di Roma” in tennis, the Moto GP at Mugello where I met Valentino Rossi. I tried to stay involved with my fan club too so I participated to the race they organized and did a “Training Day” with 25 kids. I also made a few appearances in schools to talk about skiing. Overall I have definitely been quite busy but mostly with fun stuff!

Did you find time to go on vacation and if so where/what did you do?

I spent two weeks in the States and visited San Francisco, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Mammoth Lakes, Miami and the Bahamas. During this vacation I went fishing, did paragliding, mountain biking and overall tried to relax a little. The trip was also a mix of business and pleasure as I shot a commercial for the promotion of California.

Are you slowly getting back to training and what’s the plan both on and off snow for the next months?

I never stopped training. I’m mostly focusing on strength and endurance by doing some physical preparation in the gym; going on bike rides and hikes in the mountains. With the team we also have already completed the first on-snow training camp on Passo Stelvio. We’ll be back the first week of July skiing on one of the glaciers. All this training has constantly been combined with the physical therapies required to keep my back in good shape.

You probably wished for a slightly better World Cup season last year, but the two Olympic medals you brought home from Sochi must have been a big satisfaction. How did it feel adding those Olympic ones to the World Championship collection you already own?

Winning Olympic medals has always been a dream of mine, having them in my trophy case at home makes me immensely happy. For the rest, these last medals haven’t changed me, I’m still the same guy and I am still “hungry” for more success.

Looking forward to next season and the World Championships, what are your goals and is there a particular aspect of training you will be focusing on during the summer? 

In Vail I want to do well, but first there are World Cup races that I care a lot about. I will do as I have always done, I will prepare myself the best I can so I don’t have any regrets at the race. I will think about the World Championships only when the time comes. I just hope that my back will not bother me. For me the most important thing in order to win is having fun. The desire to train is always very strong, and I believe that I shouldn’t take anything for granted.

Release courtesy of FISAlpine