Marco Odermatt also shines at the Swiss Economic Forum

Big stage for the overall World Cup winner at the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken. Even in unfamiliar surroundings, Marco Odermatt impresses with his ease and naturalness in front of a top-class audience.

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Sport even turns company bosses into beaming fans. When Marco Odermatt, currently the best skier on the planet, entered the stage of the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF) on Thursday evening as the last guest of the first day of the event, the auditorium at Casino Interlaken was bursting at the seams. Everyone at the most important business meeting of the year wants to experience the Olympic champion and overall World Cup winner live.

And that’s not all. The way into the hall and out of the building is like running the gauntlet for the Central Swiss. While in winter in Adelboden and Wengen it’s mostly young fans begging for an autograph or at best a souvenir photo together in the finish area, this time in the Bernese Oberland it’s seasoned company bosses queuing for a selfie.

Hundreds of rejections and a single acceptance

Basically, Marco Odermatt doesn’t have time for this, because he maintains the efficiency in his few appearances off the ski slopes, even in front of the top-class audience in his career so far. In the morning, the 24-year-old is still working hard, then posts photos on social media that show him riding his racing bike and jogging in the pine forest. The ski star combines the detour to Interlaken with a few short visits to personal and association sponsors.

People from central Switzerland receive up to three requests to participate in events every day. With the exception of the SEF, he has canceled everywhere. It is celebrated at the Economic Forum, where the stage rarely belongs to sports representatives. And although Marco Odermatt is not one of the great speakers, he scores points in the half-hour conversation with TV man Urs Gredig with his naturalness and mischievousness.

He doesn’t seem nervous in this environment, just as he does on the world’s most dangerous downhill slopes. “There was a certain tension before the performance, because I don’t perform on such a big stage every day. But it was limited, after all I didn’t have to give a speech, I just did what I do all winter: answer questions. »

His answers are in demand. When a group of entrepreneurs discussed the conference program while networking in the early afternoon, one said: “I find Odermatt’s appearance the most exciting. I have to see him!” Many participants think so.

On the way to the auditorium, you can see that sport is not only useful for politicians as a presentation stage, but is also a beacon in business. At the photo point, where the company representatives can have their portraits taken, an oversized picture of sprinter Mujinga Kambundji and not of a well-known CEO serves as the advertising message.

Odermatt’s appearance is also announced with pictures from the past season. Emotions that still cause goose bumps in athletes four months after the events. Even if he says that there is actually no time to really capture such moments, “because somehow you always look straight ahead.”

Applause from the scene for a beery celebration

In conversation, Marco Odermatt, with his rustic dialect, is thoughtful at times, then funny and charming, but always relaxed and authentic. He says: “It costs me less energy if I don’t have to pretend”.

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And he makes the audience laugh a few times. For example, when he compares his everyday life with that of other jobs. “As a child, I still thought I wanted to be a skier because it’s about what you see on TV in two minutes. And after that it’s closing time.”

And when a statement is made, the entire hall spontaneously applauds. Urs Gredig asks Marco Odermatt how annoyed he was about the reports of his spontaneous party after the Olympic victory. The ski star replies: «Not at all. If you don’t celebrate after a day like this, then when?”