Top Male Skiers in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

Marcel Hirscher. Picture: Erich Spiess / Red Bull Content Pool

Leading the group of top male skiers in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is Marcel Hirscher, a record-holder with eight Overall Crystal Globes. Ingemar Stenmark held the record for the greatest number of World Cup wins, with 86. Marco Odermatt and Alexis Pinturault, along with Aleksander Aadmot Kilde and Hirscher, are among the active skiers in this elite group.

Marcel Hirscher has repeatedly been recognized as one of the greatest Austrian athletes, not just in skiing. He was named five times the Austrian ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ and in 2018 was elected ‘Champion of Champions’ by French newspaper L'Equipe and ‘Sportsman of the Year’ by Eurosport -- joining the important list of sporting greats to have been honored, including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic, and Lewis Hamilton.

Born in Annaberg-Lungötz, Salzburg, on March 2, 1989, Marcel Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. Winner of a record eight consecutive World Cup Overall titles, Hirscher has also won 11 medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, seven of them gold.

In 2019, Marcel Hirscher wrote Alpine Skiing history by winning the Overall globe for the eighth time in a row. No one ever achieved this feat. Incredibly solid and constant in the tech disciplines, and in great shape throughout the whole season, the Austrian impressed and became the greatest World Cup skier ever.

During the 2018-2019 winter season, Marcel Hirscher collected his sixth career Slalom and Giant Slalom globes. It capped off a career-best season for the Austrian technical ace, who won one World Championship title, two discipline globes, and his eighth consecutive Overall title.

Marcel Hirscher equaled Lindsey Vonn's record of 20 World Cup classification wins by winning the Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Overall Crystal Globe in 2019.

Marcel Hirscher won the 2019 Giant Slalom Crystal Globe for the sixth time, surpassing Ted Ligety (5) and Vreni Schneider (5) for second-most all-time (men and women). Ingemar Stenmark holds the record of eight in this event.

Last season, Ski Superstar Marcel Hirscher made his comeback to the Alpine Ski World Cup, but Hirscher's season ended due to an injury in December. Now it's back in the snow.

Born in Joesjö, Sweden, on March 18, 1956, Ingemar Stenmark is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest Slalom and Giant Slalom skier of all time. Stenmark held the record for the greatest number of World Cup wins, totaling 86 (46 Giant Slaloms and 40 Slaloms). This record was broken in 2023 by Mikaela Shiffrin and remains unbroken among men.

He has won three consecutive World Cup Overall titles (1976, 1977, and 1978). Stenmark has also won 7 medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, five gold. He also won two gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games.

Marc Girardelli is a former alpine ski racer from Austria who competed for Luxembourg for nearly his entire career. He is one of the most successful racers in the sport, having won the Overall World Cup five times and achieved 46 World Cup race victories, placing him fifth on the all-time list. Additionally, he boasts 100 podium finishes, ranking third on the all-time list. Girardelli is also one of the few athletes to have won in all alpine disciplines (3 in Downhill, 9 in Super-G, 16 in Slalom, 7 in Giant Slalom, and 11 in Combined), holding the record for the most victories among male racers. At the Alpine World Ski Championships, he earned a total of eleven medals—four gold, four silver, and three bronze. At the Olympic Winter Games, he won two silver medals in Val d'Isère in 1992.

Hermann Maier is a former Austrian alpine ski racer from Flachau. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history. He is a two-time Olympic champion and a three-time World Champion. Maier won the overall World Cup four times and achieved ten World Cup discipline titles. With 54 World Cup race victories, he ranks third on the all-time list and has an impressive total of 96 podium finishes. He was voted Austrian Sportsman of the Year four times and received two honorary awards. Additionally, in 2004, he was honored with a Laureus World Sports Award in the category of "Comeback of the Year."

Maier won the gold medal in both the Giant Slalom and Super-G events at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano. This achievement came just days after a dramatic crash during the Downhill race, where he spectacularly flew off the sunlit course, landed partially on his head, tumbled head over heels several times, and crashed through two layers of B-netting. Despite the frightening nature of the crash, Maier was able to walk away on his own. This incident earned him a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine and helped him become a well-known sports figure around the world.

Last season, Marco Odermatt (Switzerland) once again demonstrated he is the most consistent and therefore the best ski racer of our era for the fourth consecutive time. He won three discipline Crystal Globes (Downhill, Super-G, and Giant Slalom) and another Overall World Cup title.

The 27-year-old Swiss Ace has won the Overall Crystal Globe four consecutive times: 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. He finished the 2024-2025 winter season with 13 Crystal Globes (4 Overall, 2 in Downhill, 3 in Super-G, and 4 in Giant Slalom). With 13 Globes, Marco Odermatt has become the fourth most successful men's skier of all time. Marcel Hirscher, with 20 Globes, leads the way, Ingemar Stenmark is second with 18, and Hermann Maier is fourth with 14.

Marco Odermatt, with 87 World Cup podiums, has overtaken Pirmin Zurbriggen on the list for the most Swiss men's World Cup podiums across all disciplines.

Pirmin Zurbriggen is a former Swiss alpine ski racer who was one of the most outstanding athletes in the sport during the 1980s. With 40 World Cup victories, he ranks among the most successful ski racers of all time. Zurbriggen is an Olympic downhill champion (Calgary 1988) and has won the Overall Alpine Ski World Cup four times. In his three appearances at the Alpine World Ski Championships, he earned a total of nine medals: four gold, four silver, and one bronze. Additionally, he claimed World Cup discipline titles twelve times and is part of a select group of skiers who have won World Cup races in all five disciplines  (10 in Downhill, 10 in Super-G, 2 in Slalom, 7 in Giant Slalom, and 11 in Combined).

Gustavo Thoeni (Gustav Thöni) is a former Italian alpine ski racer and coach. A specialist in Slalom and Giant Slalom from South Tyrol, he was one of the most successful racers of the 1970s. Thoeni won the overall Ski World Cup title four times and achieved 24 World Cup race victories, finishing on the podium 69 times throughout his career. He became a world champion five times and earned three Olympic medals: one gold in Giant Slalom at the 1972 Sapporo Olympic Winter Games and two silvers in Slalom at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics. After retiring from competitive skiing, he found further success as Alberto Tomba's personal coach from 1989 to 1996, and as the head coach of the Italian national ski team until 1999.

Overall Crystal Globes	Racer	Total Crystal Globes	Wins	Podiums
8	Marcel Hirscher (AUT)	20	67	138
5	Marc Girardelli (LUX)	11	46	100
4	Hermann Maier  (AUT)	14	54	96
4	Marco Odermatt (SUI)	13	45	88
4	Pirmin Zurbriggen (SUI)	11	40	83
4	Gustavo Thoeni (ITA)	6	24	69
3	Ingemar Stenmark (SWE)	18	86	155
3	Phil Mahre (USA)	6	27	69
2	Aksel-Lund Svindal (NOR)	11	36	80
2	Stephan Eberharter (AUT)	7	29	75
2	Bode Miller (USA)	6	33	79
2	Jean Claude Killy (FRA)	6	18	24
2	Karl Schranz (AUT)	5	12	23
2	Lasse Kjus (NOR)	3	18	60
1	Albert Tomba (ITA)	9	50	88
1	Benjamin Raich (AUT)	7	36	92
1	Alexis Pinturault (FRA)	6	34	77
1	Ivica Kostelic (CRO)	5	26	60
1	Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR)	5	21	48
1	Luc Alphand (FRA)	5	12	23
1	Kjetil Andre Aamodt (NOR)	4	21	64
1	Piero Gros (ITA)	2	12	35
1	Carlo Janka (SUI)	2	11	28
1	Paul Accola (SUI)	2	7	26
1	Andreas Wenzel (LIE)	1	14	47
1	Peter Luescher (SUI)	1	6	25