 Finishing at Bormio in late 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1995-05-05) 5 May 1995 Bülach, Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Website | nielshintermann.ch | ||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | |||||||||||||||
| Country |  Switzerland | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Alpine skiing | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Hausen am Albis | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | 13 March 2026 (age 31) | ||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Downhill, Super-G, Combined | ||||||||||||||
World Cup debut | 28 November 2015 (age 20) | ||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | 1 – (2022) | ||||||||||||||
| Medals | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 – (2019, 2021, 2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Medals | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 9 – (2016–2017, 2019–2024, 2026) | ||||||||||||||
| Wins | 3 – (2 DH, 1 AC) | ||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 7 – (6 DH, 1 AC) | ||||||||||||||
Overall titles | 0 – (13th in 2022) | ||||||||||||||
Discipline titles | 0 – (2nd in AC, 2017) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Niels Hintermann (born 5 May 1995) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Bülach, Zürich, he specialized in the speed events of downhill and super-G.
Career
Hintermann made his World Cup debut at age 20 in November 2015 at Lake Louise, and was 40th in the downhill.1 He scored his first World Cup points three weeks later at Val Gardena, at 29th place in the downhill. Hintermann won his first World Cup race (and first podium) the following season, in the combined at Wengen in January 2017.2 In October 2024, Hintermann announced that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma, which is why he did not compete in any races during the 2024–25 World Cup season.3 On 13 March 2026, Hintermann declared his immediate retirement, citing what he regarded as the excessive risks of the sport. He stated that before his last downhill races, he had suffered from panic attacks.4 Since he had qualified by finishing among the top 25 in the 2026 downhill standings, race organizers at the World Cup Finals gave Hintermann a farewell run at Kvitfjell – the site of Hintermann's two downhill World Cup victories.5
World Cup results
Season standings
| Season | |||||||
| Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
| 2016 | 20 | 122 | — | — | — | 48 | 42 |
| 2017 | 21 | 53 | — | — | 41 | 37 | 2 |
| 2018 | 22 | injured; did not compete | |||||
| 2019 | 23 | 69 | — | — | 55 | 23 | 28 |
| 2020 | 24 | 33 | — | — | — | 12 | 19 |
| 2021 | 25 | 93 | — | — | 55 | 28 | N/a |
| 2022 | 26 | 13 | — | — | 27 | 7 | |
| 2023 | 27 | 24 | — | — | 34 | 7 | |
| 2024 | 28 | 33 | — | — | 33 | 6 | |
| 2025 | 29 | injured; did not compete | |||||
| 2026 | 30 | 59 | — | — | — | 18 | |
Race podiums
| Season | ||||
| Date | Location | Discipline | Place | |
| 2017 | 13 January 2017 | Wengen, Switzerland
|
Combined | 1st |
| 2022 | 18 December 2021 |  Val Gardena, Italy
|
Downhill | 3rd |
| 28 December 2021 | Bormio, Italy
|
Downhill | 3rd | |
| 4 March 2022 |  Kvitfjell, Norway
|
Downhill | 1st | |
| 5 March 2022 | Downhill | 3rd | ||
| 2023 | 20 January 2023 |  Kitzbühel, Austria
|
Downhill | 3rd |
| 2024 | 17 February 2024 | Kvitfjell, Norway
|
Downhill | 1st |
World Championship results
| Year | ||||||
| Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
| 2019 | 23 | — | — | — | 21 | 23 |
| 2021 | 25 | — | — | — | DNF | — |
| 2023 | 27 | — | — | — | 12 | — |
Olympic results
| Year | ||||||
| Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined | |
| 2022 | 26 | — | — | — | 16 | — |
References
References
- "Niels Hintermann - Athlete Biography". FIS-ski.com. International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
- Dunbar, Graham (13 January 2017). "Unheralded Swiss wins World Cup Alpine combined race". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- Breitenstein, Eva (9 October 2024). "Niels Hintermann ist an Lymphdrüsenkrebs erkrankt – seine Heilungschancen sind gut" [Swiss ski racer Niels Hintermann has been diagnosed with lymphoma – his chances of recovery are good.]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Zürich: NZZ Mediengruppe. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- "Per sofort - «Will Leben nicht riskieren»: Hintermann verkündet Rücktritt" ["I don’t want to risk my life": Hintermann announces his retirement]. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (in German). Bern: Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- Schneemann, Julia (19 March 2026). "Ski Racer Announces Immediate Retirement: "Given a 2nd Lease on Life—I'm Not Willing to Risk That"". SnowBrains.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
External links
External links
- Niels Hintermann at FIS (alpine)
- Niels Hintermann at Olympedia
- Niels Hintermann at InterSportStats
- Niels Hintermann at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Swiss Ski team official site (in German)
- Niels Hintermann at Atomic Skis
- Official website (in German)