Sports, medals and peace

Michael Walchhofer, born in Radstadt, Austria on April 28, 1975, is an Alpine skier. At the Winter Olympics 2006 in Turin, Italy he won the silver medal in downhill freestyle. Walchhofer, who skied in 10th position, remained in the lead for a long time, but in the end he was beaten by seventy-two one-hundredths of a second by Frenchman, Antoine Deneriaz, the 30th skier.

Walchhofer made his Alpine skiing debut in the 1999 World Cup series. In the same season he became the Europa Cup winner. He gained his first victory in the World Cup at the combined event in Kitzbühel, Austria in 2003. At the Alpine Skiing World Championship in St. Moritz, Switzerland in 2003, he won the gold medal in downhill freestyle; in 2005 he won the bronze plus a silver in the Super-Giant Slalom. In the 2004-2005 seasons, he was adjudged World Cup champion in downhill freestyle.

On several occasions, Michael Walchhofer has openly expressed that what matters most to him – even more than his successful sports career – is his values. Speaking of his family, he said, “The birth of my first daughter was a more touching experience than the highest sports success I have ever achieved.” His tenacious yet approachable manner makes him not only pleasant but also a model for the young.

His victory was a great joy for us because he was one of the supporters of Sports4Peace, a sport-oriented project of the Focolare Movement for teen-agers, within its vaster Lifestyle4Peace Project which the Teens for Unity of Austria are promoting in collaboration with Sportmeet, the worldwide network of sportsmen, sportswomen and sports operators who practice sport as an important and positive aspect of their personal life and the life of other people, and draw inspiration from their desire to contribute to building a more united world also through sports.