Andreas SANDER

Historical Results

Andi

Athlete, sport soldier

Was born in northern Germany near Dusseldorf but developed a passion for ski racing. So as a teen, moved over 600km south to attend school, first to the Berchtesgaden Ski Gymnasium and then Gertrud-von-le-Fort-Gymnasium Oberstdorf to gain winter sports experience. Graduated in 2006 (Athlete, 27 May 2021; skiracing.com, 12 Sep 2018)

Wife, Julia (married 2017). Two sons (born 2018 and 2021). Father, Michael. Mother, Ingeborg. Older brother. (Instagram, Facebook.com; wp.de, 9 Apr 2016; skiracing.com, 12 Sep 2018)

German, English

SG Ennepetal

Wife Julia Eisenlauer (Cross-country skiing): Skied in FIS events in 2007/08.

Brother-in-law Sebastien Eisenlauer (Cross-country skiing): Two-time Olympian (Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018); four-time World Championships team member. Two top-five World Cup finishes.

Tennis, windsurfing, football (soccer). As a young boy growing up in Westphalia, he dreamed of playing for Borussia Dortmund. "I just wasn't talented enough for a career as a professional soccer player. It was clear early on that my talent was more to be found in skiing." (skiracing.com, 12 Sep 2018; skiweltcup.tv)

2004 FIS event in Kaunertal (Slalom - 35th)
2008 World Cup in Bormio (Super-G - DNF)

2018: Injured right anterior cruciate ligament in the second downhill training run at Bormio World Cup in late-December, causing him to miss the remainder of the season. (Athlete, 27 May 2021; dsv-jahrbuch.de)

2017: Considered surgery on his right shoulder, but chose to do therapy instead to not impact his preparation for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. (wp.de, 28 Mar 2017)

2013: Injured left anterior cruciate ligament causing him to miss the final two months of the season after scoring his first World Cup points. (Athlete, 27 May 2021; dsv-jahrbuch.de)

2011

Began skiing when he was two-and-a-half years old when his father Michael, who was a ski racer, taught him during a family ski holiday in Obergurgl. Grew up in Westfalen, in northern Germany, but the family took regular ski trips to Austria. "My brother, who is six years older, also competed in ski races, so I really wanted to do it. We even had our own gate poles with us during our skiing holiday and trained there on the slopes. So, my father was my first coach." (Athlete, 27 May 2021; dsv-jahrbuch.de; skiweltcup.tv; skiracing.com, 12 Sep 2018)

His whole family skies. (Athlete, 27 May 2021)

“Ever since I followed Alpine skiing as a child and especially downhill skiing, I have always been looking forward to Kitzbuhel and the Streif in front of the TV. To win once there and have a gondola dedicated to it has been a big dream since I was a child.” (ski-interviews.de, 2018)

Early in his career, he didn’t train enough in details and wasn’t disciplined enough. "Only when I brought more structure in my whole training, did I start to get better. And year after year, I became more professional and more successful." (skiracing.com, 12 Sep 2018)

2008 super-G gold at Junior World Championships.
2021 downhill silver at World Ski Championships.

Hermann Maier (AUT), two-time Olympic champion at Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games; and Didier Cuche (SUI), Nagano 1998 Olympic super-G silver medallist and six World Cup crystal globe titles. “Both have always shown extreme determination. Victory was all that counted on good days and they expressed it. Stories are that both of them were hard workers in their sport. You need this determination and self-evidence in order to be able to win races. But you have to work hard to achieve this.” (ski-interviews.de, 2018)

Roger Federer (SUI), a record 20 Grand Slam men's tennis titles. “Roger Federer is also a great role model for me in terms of sport. First, of course, because I also like to play tennis. But he also impresses me because he makes his sport look so incredibly elegant and simple.” (ski-interviews.de, 2018)

Alpine skier Hermann Maier (AUT), two-time Olympic champion at Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games.
Alpine skier Didier Cuche (SUI), Nagano 1988 Olympic silver medallist and 2009 World champion.
Tennis player Roger Federer (SUI), two-time Olympic medallist.
(Athlete, 27 May 2021)

None. (Athlete, 27 May 2021)

"Work hard, but better to work smart." (Athlete, 27 May 2021)

“For me the words ‘dream’ and ‘realize’ are far apart. I want to achieve my sporting goals every year. But dreams are clearly above that for me. The fact that I was even allowed to compete in a World Cup was already a great childhood dream for me that has come true.” (Ski-interviews.de, 2018)