Mario Stecher (born 17 July 1977, in

Eisenerz Eisenerz (; "Iron ore") is a market place and old mining town in the Austrian state of Styria, . N.W. of Graz by rail. Pop. (2001) 6,400. It is situated in the deep Erzbach (Enns), Erzbach Valley, dominated on the east by the :de:Pfaffenstein (H ...

) is an Austrian former

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

skier. Competing in six

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, he won three medals in the 4 x 5 km team event with two golds (

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

) and a bronze (

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

). Stecher's best individual finish was fifth in the 10 km individual normal hill event at

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 2010. He won six medals at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial Nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship eve ...

with two gold, three silvers (7.5 km sprint:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, 4 x 5 km team:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

) and a bronze (4 x 5 km team:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

). Stecher has a total of nine World Cup victories since 1994, including the Nordic combined event at the

Holmenkollen ski festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March and has been arranged every ...

that same year. Being 16 years old, he was the youngest winner on the Holmenkollen. - On February 27, 2015, he announced his retirement, after he wasn't nominated by the Austrian Ski Federation to compete in the FIS Nordic Skiing World Championships 2015 in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

. He is married to Carina Raich since 2008.

External links

*
Holmenkollen winners since 1892
– click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file * * * * 1977 births Austrian male Nordic combined skiers Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Living people Nordic combined skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Nordic combined Grand Prix winners Olympic gold medalists for Austria Olympic bronze medalists for Austria Olympic Nordic combined skiers for Austria Olympic medalists in Nordic combined FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in Nordic combined Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics People from Leoben District Skiers from Styria {{Nordic-skiing-bio-stub