Thanks to a new rule, Marcel Hirscher can claim a wildcard for his World Cup comeback, which could give him a big jump in the starting list. Much to the annoyance of some ski stars.
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- Five years after his retirement, Marcel Hirscher wants to give it another go. The eight-time overall World Cup winner will return to the ski circus next season.
- The new wildcard rule could make it easier for Hirscher, who is competing for the Netherlands, to return to the top of the world.
- Top athletes such as Justin Murisier and Daniel Yule criticize the FIS rule change.
While fans are already looking forward to Marcel Hirscher's comeback, some ski stars are annoyed about the obvious special treatment of the eight-time overall World Cup winner. The FIS has introduced a new rule to make it easier for retired athletes to return to the top of the world. Former overall World Cup and discipline World Cup winners as well as World Championship or Olympic gold medal winners can now claim a wildcard after a competition break of between two and ten years.
With this wildcard, the Austrian, who will be competing for the Netherlands next season, can not only start in the World Cup again, but also does not have to start the races with a very high starting number. Instead of a number in the region of 60, Hirscher will be able to race for top places with a 31.
A great thing for Hirscher, but other ski cracks like Justin Murisier are less pleased: "Personally, I like Marcel Hirscher very much. (...) I'm still annoyed about it," the Valais skier, who has developed more and more from a giant slalom specialist to a speed skier in recent years, is quoted as saying in "Blick ".
The FIS would like to emphasize again and again that fairness must be the focus of every rule. "That's why the slopes are iced so that as many racers as possible have identical conditions during the races. But a rule is now being changed for Marcel Hirscher that is definitely not fair," says Murisier.
"Nobody knew about it"
According to the world federation, the rule change was agreed with the athletes. However, slalom star Daniel Yule disagrees: "Nobody spoke to me about this before the FIS Congress. And if I had been asked, I would have said no to this wildcard for former champions, even though Marcel Hirscher is undisputedly an added value for our sport." AJ Ginnis was also unaware of the rule change: "Nobody in the Whatsapp group, to which all the technical specialists in the World Cup belong, knew about it," the Greek told Blick.
Christian Leitner is even clearer. "It's an absolute cheek," rages the Austrian, who coached Finland's Kalle Palander to the world slalom title in 1999. "This new rule is a slap in the face for every young athlete who has to fight hard for a place in the first third of the start list."
Swiss Ski President Urs Lehmann sees things a little differently. He can understand that the athletes are criticizing the decision. "From an economic point of view, however, the wildcard for Hirscher represents an opportunity for all racers," says Lehmann. "I'm sure that a few million more people worldwide will tune in to the TV when a great champion like Hirscher makes his comeback in Sölden. And with better TV ratings, the market value of all the starters will increase."
