Benjamin MAIER

Austria

Bobsleigh

Date of Birth: 19 Apr 1994

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Place of birth: HALL IN TIROL

Birth Country:

Austria

Residence: RUM

Residence Country:

Austria

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Bobsleigh	2-man AUT Austria	5
	4-man AUT Austria	12

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Official Training Heat 1	Finished
After Heat 1	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Official Training Heat 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Official Training Heat 3	Finished
After Heat 3	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Official Training Heat 4	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Official Training Heat 5	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Official Training Heat 6	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Heat 1	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Heat 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Heat 3	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	2-man Heat 4	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Official Training Heat 1	Finished
After Heat 1	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Official Training Heat 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Official Training Heat 3	Finished
After Heat 3	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Official Training Heat 4	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Official Training Heat 5	Finished
After Heat 5	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Official Training Heat 6	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Heat 1	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Heat 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Heat 3	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	4-man Heat 4	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Historical Results

Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
7	4-man	2018	PyeongChang, KOR	00:03:16.900
8	2-man	2018	PyeongChang, KOR	00:03:17.760
19	4-man	2014	Sochi, RUS	00:02:48.630
20	2-man	2014	Sochi, RUS	00:02:52.720

Youth Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
2	2-man	2012	Innsbruck, AUT	00:01:49.230

World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
2	4-man	2021	Altenberg, GER	3:35.81
5	4-man	2020	Altenberg, GER	3:36.92
5	4-man	2016	Innsbruck, AUT	3:24.68
6	2-man	2020	Altenberg, GER	3:42.76
6	4-man	2019	Whistler, BC, CAN	3:22.32
7	4-man	2017	Koenigssee, GER	3:14.90
9	2-man	2016	Innsbruck, AUT	3:27.35
11	2-man	2017	Koenigssee, GER	3:18.67
12	2-man	2019	Whistler, BC, CAN	3:26.87
17	4-man	2015	Winterberg, GER	3:37.82
21	2-man	2015	Winterberg, GER	2:50.93
29	2-man	2013	St. Moritz, SUI	3:22.57
DNS	2-man	2021	Altenberg, GER

Junior World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
4	4-man	2020	Winterberg, GER	1:51.74
13	2-man	2020	Winterberg, GER	1:52.42

World Cup Rankings
Season	2-man	4-man
2021/22	11	8
2020/21	15	2
2019/20	13	14
2018/19	20	17
2017/18	11	10
2016/17	7	8
2015/16	19	15
2014/15	25	16
2013/14	28	31

World Cup - Best Achievements
Season	2-man	4-man
2021/22	1 x 3rd, 1 x 4th, 2 x 7th	1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd, 2 x 4th
2020/21	2 x 3rd, 1 x 7th, 1 x 9th	3 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd
2019/20	1 x 7th, 1 x 8th, 1 x 12th	1 x 3rd, 1 x 6th, 1 x 11th
2018/19	1 x 3rd, 1 x 9th, 1 x 18th	1 x 5th, 1 x 6th, 1 x 10th

Ten Best World Cup Performances in Current Season
Rank	Event	Season	Location	Result
2	4-man	2021/22	Altenberg, GER	1:48.63
3	4-man	2021/22	Winterberg, GER	1:49.74
3	2-man	2021/22	Sigulda, LAT	1:39.40
4	2-man	2021/22	Sigulda, LAT	1:39.76
4	4-man	2021/22	Innsbruck, AUT	1:41.80
4	4-man	2021/22	Altenberg, GER	1:49.27
5	4-man	2021/22	Innsbruck, AUT	1:42.21
6	4-man	2021/22	Winterberg, GER	1:48.34
7	2-man	2021/22	Altenberg, GER	1:50.82
7	2-man	2021/22	Altenberg, GER	1:50.71

Nickname:

Benji, Benni. Team nickname is the Austrian Avalanche.

Hobbies:

Football, volleyball.

Occupation:

Athlete, Sport Soldier

Education:

HAK Hall (Tirol, AUT)

Family:

Wife, Elisabeth (married March 2018). Son, Hendrix Finn (born December 2019). Father, Manfred. Mother, Karin. Brothers, Samuel and Raphael. Sister, Florentina.

Languages spoken:

German, English

Club name:

BSC Stubai

Coach:

National: Wolfgang Stampfer (AUT)
Personal: Walter Hable (AUT), Franz Esterhammer (AUT)

Position style:

Pilot

Sporting relatives:

Wife Elisabeth Maier [nee Vathje] (Skeleton): Representing Canada, she finished ninth at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Has competed on the World Cup tour since 2014/15. In her first season, placed third at the World Championships.

Father Manfred Maier (Bobsleigh): Former bobsleigh pilot and coach of the Austrian national team. He now serves as a development coordinator at the IBSF, as well as their COVID-19 coordinator.

Brother Samuel Maier (Skeleton): Sixth at Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games. Has been competing on the senior World Cup tour since 2018/19, with a single podium finish in the final race of the 2020/21 season, a bronze medal at Innsbruck.

Brother Raphael Maier (Skeleton): At the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, he placed 19th. Competed internationally from 2008 to 2016. Best showing at the World Championships was 11th in the team event.

Other sports:

Skeleton: Competed at the junior international level for seven years.

Debut:

2014 World Cup in Winterberg (2-man - 21st)

Injuries:

January 2022: Tested positive for COVID-19 - along with push athlete Markus Sammer (AUT) - missing the final two World Cup events of the season.

December 2019: Torn thigh muscle caused when entering the sled at the Austrian Championships. The injury plagued him for the remainder of the season.

National team:

2011

Start:

Switched to bobsleigh at age 15 because he was more comfortable steering with his hands than with his whole body in skeleton. (derstandard.at, 8 Feb 2016; Info 2018)

Reason:

With his father a bobsleigh pilot and then a coach, “We actually grew up on the bobsleigh run.” (tt.com,22 Feb 2016)

Ambition:

To medal at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. (tt.com, 28 Jan 2021)

Hero:

Sprinter Usain Bolt (JAM), eight-time Olympic and 11-time world champion. (Info 2018)

Philosophy:

"Being is everything." (Info 2018)

General Interest

OLYMPIC FLAGBEARER
Selected as Austria's flagbearer for the Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony.

CROWDFUNDING
In a notoriously expensive sport with little prize money on offer, he has had to borrow money from his family to continue his sporting career. He and wife Elisabeth sold their apartment in Canada, and now either live with her parents in Canada or his parents in Rum, Austria, sharing a car with his brother when they are in Europe. For the 2020/21 season, he started crowdfunding for sponsorships, with the higher tiers of donors rewarded with their names on his sled. German Francesco Friedrich, the top pilot in the sport and 2018 Olympic champion in both the two- and four-man bob, started with a 500 Euro donation to his rival that has turned into increased sponsorship. "Bobteam Friedrich" now adorns the Austrian sled. "It's an unbelievably great feeling when the world's best rider supports you. Normally you want to keep the competition away from you, but the opposite is the case with him. He wants competition, gives us tips, shows us that we are on the right track. He is a strong opponent on the track, but above all an absolute sportsman." (kurier.at, 11 Jan 2021; tt.com, 28 Jan 2021; sueddeutsche.de, 11 Feb 2021)

Milestones

The youngest Austrian to compete in bobsleigh at the Olympic Winter Games when he debuted at Sochi 2014 (19 years 303 days). Two top-10 finishes at PyeongChang 2018.

His 2021 World Championships silver medal in the four-man was the first medal won by Austria in any discipline since a Hubert Schoesser-piloted sled placed second in the four-man in 1995. Crashed in the two-man.

Three-time Junior World Championships medalling winning one silver (2016 four-man) and two bronzes (2014 and 2018 two-man). Twice he was fourth.

10 career World Cup podium finishes (six seconds, four thirds), still looking for his first victory.

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/benji15
Facebook Team: https://www.facebook.com/bobteammaier/
https://www.instagram.com/benjimaier94/
Team Website: https://www.instagram.com/bobteammaier/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos