The baby of the Austrian team, 20-year-old Marcel Hirscher is juggling an interest in Hotel Management studies with his growing status as a World Cup force. Growing up in Annaberg where his father operates his own ski school, Hirscher got a lot of quality, in-house coaching. Also, as his mother is from The Netherlands, he has dual citizenship. He can be found riding a dirt bike, dabbling in motocross, when he gets a break from his skis.

With father Ferdinand first taking him to the slopes at the age of 2, shortly after he learned to walk, Hirscher entered his first competition at the age of 6 and was hooked. He won a university race in Austria when he was 16 and made his World Cup debut in Lenzerheide in 2007 before his 18th birthday, finishing 24th in giant slalom. By the following season, 2007-08, Hirscher worked his way into the top 10 in slalom, taking ninth in Adelboden, then landed on his first Cup podium with a third place in Kranjska Gora. Proving this was no fluke, Hirscher collected another bronze finish in slalom six days later in Bormio. No stranger to championship victories, Hirscher claimed the junior world championship crown in GS in 2007 at Flachau, also nabbing silver in slalom, then cleaned house with both GS and slalom gold in 2008 at Formigal.

The Atomic skier has needed very little practice to become consistent on the World Cup. He started the 2008-09 season with a top 15 result in the Beaver Creek giant slalom, then rocketed onto his third Cup podium in the Val d'Isere super-combined event. He took a few more top 15s in GS before racking up a series of top-10 finishes in slalom in Adelboden, Wengen and Kitzbuehel. He pulled in a couple more top 10s in GS and super-combined before heading to his first world championships and missing the GS podium by mere hundredths of a second, taking fourth. This left him thirsty for medals. He found them at the 2009 junior worlds in Garmisch - bronze in GS and an eyebrow-raising silver in super G. Keep an eye on him this Olympic year.
When not skiing or kicking up dirt on a motorcycle, Hirscher enjoys paddling, climbing and soccer.