Linus Straßer, the 33-year-old Munich native and father of two children, is the only serious medal contender for German men's alpine skiing in slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics. After his tenth place in the team event in Bormio, he returned home to spend time with his family. The skier thinks beyond the sport and criticizes the Olympic atmosphere.
Linus Straßer is an exception in the alpine skiing circuit. The 33-year-old from Munich, a fan of TSV 1860, prioritizes family and personal development alongside skiing. After the team event in Bormio, where he placed tenth with Simon Jocher, he went home to spend the break before Monday's slalom with his two young children.
Straßer switched from Rossignol to Head skis before the Olympic season because everyday life had become too monotonous. Results since then have been mixed. “I needed a new challenge because it felt like I had seen everything,” he said. “If I get through that, it makes me stronger. Not just for skiing, but really in life. Mentally and for personal development.”
Despite the switch, he showed strength: third place in the 2024 Kitzbühel World Cup slalom, his biggest win in the discipline. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he won silver in the team event with Emma Aicher and others. In 2025, he earned World Championship bronze in Saalbach, which means more to him due to the better atmosphere in Austria than at the Olympics.
Straßer is critical of the Winter Games. He misses the Olympic feeling, as in Pyeongchang and Beijing, and called the slalom hill in Bormio a “ski meadow.” “That was the easiest slalom hill I've ever skied at this level. Anyone can do it here. But we'll accept it.” Still, he wants a medal as a “through and through performance athlete.” It will be his last Olympic appearance. “Skiing is not my life, it's a part of my life. I'm also looking forward to what comes after my career and have no fear of it.”
