Matthias Mayer does not rule out a comeback: “If I find fire again”

“I’m currently taking a little vacation and treating myself to the whole thing. But I don’t want to write it off entirely at the moment,” said the Carinthian on Wednesday in a media talk at Lake Afritz. The three-time Olympic skiing champion enjoys free skiing and stressed that if he were to return, he would have no shortage of goals.

“I’m in the phase where I say I’m enjoying it and I’m watching it on TV. What’s coming, that’s coming,” said the 32-year-old. He will not decide anything today, he leaves the decision open. “That’s very important to me.”

Will the home World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in 2025 or the Olympic Games in 2026 play a role? “The goals in sport will not run out. If I find the fire to emulate goals again, why shouldn’t there be a comeback?”

When he declared his resignation, it was also a resignation at the time, Mayer assured. “I’ve lived it that way up to now, and I want to continue living it that way, but I certainly want to keep skiing. In whatever form.” He was suggested to test skis. “So I thought to myself, before I start testing skis, I can continue testing mine and go down again at some point. That’s why I’m just leaving it open to me.”

Conversations made the difference

There was no exact point that a comeback could follow the resignation. At first he kept his distance from skiing, then he went back and took the feeling of the swing with him. “I had talks with my wife, my family, all around, somehow it then developed that I just wanted to leave it open.”

Mayer described the resignation on Wednesday as a “great decision”, he was still very satisfied with it. He didn’t want to do the same thing as Beat Feuz, he said with a smile, and decided on the other option. The Swiss had already declared in December that he would stop in Kitzbühel, Mayer relied on the general surprise effect.

He had often had thoughts of resigning in this way. He did the preparation for the season and left it open. “The Olympic victory last year was a big milestone for me. In February I thought I could retire, and it was a topic again and again in the summer. In the end, I was surprised that I went through with it like that .” There is no special trigger, it is a resignation at the peak of his career.

About the rumours

Mayer said he was not aware that the sudden end of his career could open up space for speculation and rumours. Many were circulating quickly.

“I can pretty much dismiss all the rumours, I resigned out of my inner will.” He himself heard rumors that his wife Claudia was pregnant or that he had had an argument with a trainer – neither of which is true.

When asked about the rumor that doping could have been involved, Mayer said: “The rumor is new to me, I have nothing to do with doping.”

“I was born to ski”

Mayer also wanted to put an end to the speculation that a burnout could have been the cause. But he needed time after the Olympics to prepare again, he explained. “I tried to get mentally fit again. But I wouldn’t say that it really bothered me and that that was the reason for my retirement. But of course it’s a long time that I’ve been in the Ski World Cup .” He was born into skiing and has been on skis since he was two and a half years old, almost 30 years. “It’s nice when you get a bit of a break.”

Mentally, such a career is very exhausting, you always have to keep up to date and should always reorient yourself. “I’ve been lucky not to have physically injured myself in recent years and have always been in top shape. That’s not something to be taken for granted.”

Mayer explained that he had phases in which he had to learn to deal with the public interest and that it bothered him. “It’s not going to stop now, it will be with me for the rest of my life. There are more positive things than negative things. It’s not easy when you’re recognized so quickly everywhere in Austria, but it can also have its good sides. “

He experienced tremendous emotions, there were tremendous successes. “But in sport you rarely run out of goals, the sport just keeps going. I haven’t run out of goals.” The decision to stop was liberating on the one hand, but there was also melancholy on the other. “We’re a laid-back squad. I want to thank everyone, it’s been a crazy time.”

He still likes to follow what’s going on, it’s cool to see, for example that Vincent Kriechmayr “did really well” in Kitzbühel. “It’s good for me at the moment to see it from the other side.”

What the future will bring is an open question. In the past few weeks he has had many discussions with those involved in the ski circus, there are many offers, for example to get involved in the youth sector. “Of course there were also calls for a comeback. I tell them that I’m going on a little vacation at the moment.”

The feedback after the resignation was enormous, he had never received so many messages, not even when he won the Olympics. “I currently have a lot of free time, which I also enjoy, together with my wife. I skied a lot on the Gerlitzen and went on a few ski tours in our area.” He has also made time for his fans and watched the Kitzbühel races with them in the clubhouse.