Michael ("Mike") Schmid (born 18 March 1984) is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

freestyle skier Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and ...

who specializes in the

ski cross Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often con ...

discipline. He is the inaugural Olympic champion in the event. He made his World Cup debut in January 2004 in

Laax Laax (; , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Surselva Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. History Laax is first undoubtedly mentioned 1290–98 as ''Lags''. Laax is first me ...

, and finished among the top thirty for the first time one year later, with a 22nd place in

Pozza di Fassa Pozza di Fassa ( Ladin: ''Poza (de Fascia)'', ) is a ''frazione'' of Sèn Jan di Fassa in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,8 ...

. Then, two tenth places and a thirteenth place followed before the end of the season. He also finished sixth at the 2005 World Championships in

Ruka Ruka may refer to: People Given name *, Japanese actress *, Japanese football player *, Japanese snowboarder * (稲場るか, born 2000), Japanese AV actress * (佳苗るか, born 1993), Japanese screenwriter and former AV actress *, Japanese profe ...

. In the 2005–06 season he finished eighth three times, and took his first podium with a second place in

Kreischberg Kreischberg is an Austrian ski resort in Styria, Austria. The area includes the adjacent Rosenkranzhöhe and offers 40 kilometres of slopes altogether. In December 2013, Kreischberg was considered the first 10-seater gondola in Styria. Recently, th ...

in January. In the seasons 2006–07 and 2007–08 he finished consistently among the top ten in the World Cup, recording one more second place, and finished tenth at the 2007 World Championships in

Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio () is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an elevation of above sea level, and has approximately 1,000 inhabitants. Th ...

. In January 2009, he won a World Cup race for the first time, in

St. Johann in Tirol Sankt Johann in Tirol, called Sainihåns () in the local dialect, is a market municipality in the Kitzbühel district of Tyrol, Austria. In the regional ductus, the last syllable of the name is stressed as "Sankt yo-Hahn'" (). Geography St.&nbs ...

. Retrieved on 1 February 2009. Schmid won the gold medal at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, after achieving the best time in qualification and dominating all four final runs. He represents the sports club SK Frutigen. He uses

Stöckli A Stöckli (Switzerland), ''Korbhaus, Austragshaus, Ausgeding(e)haus, Nahrungshaus'' or ''Auszugshaus'' (Germany) is a multifunctional agricultural building that is traditionally a part of farms in Switzerland and parts of Germany. Etymology The ...

skis.

References

1984 births Living people Swiss male freestyle skiers Freestyle skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic freestyle skiers for Switzerland Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Olympic medalists in freestyle skiing Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics 21st-century Swiss sportsmen {{Switzerland-freestyle-skiing-bio-stub