Within a few seasons , Hermann Maier has simply established himself as one of the most dominant champions in the history of Alpine Ski Racing. The Austrian has picked up the mantles left by the greatest stars such as Switzerland's Pirmin Zurbriggen, Marc Girardelli from Luxembourg or Italy's superstar Alberto Tomba and moves now at the level of Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark, the "land mark" in the modern era of the white sport.

Maier won four gold medals at the Nagano Olympics and at the Vail FIS World Championships. He also picked up the Overall World Cup title twice in 1998 and 2000, establishing a new record of 2000 points during the Finals at Bormio- his own way to mark to new Millennium. He has won a total of 28 events in four disciplines since February 1997 - quite an unprecedented and impressive achievement.

He the first skier since Zurbriggen in 1987 to have clinched four out of five World Cup titles in the same winter. This is no surprise for those who know him. Hermann is a fighter both on the ski slopes and in his life and only one sport really attracts him - the highest march on the podiums. Like a wild bull he raged through an amazing 1997/98 season with ten wins in four different events and seven more top-3 finishes.

His eight victories during the 1998/99 winter were not enough for another Overall World Cup, but he reached his main goal in Vail/Beaver Creek in winning the World downhill after an incredible run down the "Birds of Prey" course. Even his famous countryman, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was impressed by his determination. But in the evening after the race, "The Terminator" showed him who is really the strongest of them in a spectacular arm wrestling contest.

This "tough guy" approach by Maier comes from a hard life as a teenager before breaking through on the highest international level of racing. A promising junior, he had to give up intensive ski racing within the Austrian program because he was physically not strong enough. When he was 15, the doctors had to ask him to give up the competition because of his bad knees.

Then Hermann decided to help his parents run two ski schools in the resort of Flachau, one hour drive south from Salzburg, working there as a ski instructor along his mother. His father also worked at the Atomic factory in nearby Altenmark. His brother Alexander focused more on snowboard and he competes too on the International level.

In the summer, young Hermann also worked as a bricklayer, working 12 to 14 hours a day - this helped him become stronger and to be totally in charge of himself.

In the winter, his activity as an instructor brought him to ski by all kinds of weather, visibility and snow-conditions. He especially enjoyed powder skiing. It gave him a strong technical base and a great instinct which helped him to develop a very efficient personal technique. At 20, he competed again in some local races, never giving up the dream to become once a "World Cup racer".

He was ready to work hard to reach this goal - and he did it. Training sometimes eight hours a day, he built himself up to become a perfect racing machine. It took him some time to prove it! In 1995, Maier was banned for several months by his Federation for skiing in a pro race at Schladming. Later on, he took chance in the national championships. Despite a high start-number (141) he was able to finish 18th in GS. Yet even that achievement didn't open him the doors to the Austrian ski team because of his age. In January 1996, he finally qualified for Europa Cup events after clocking excellent unofficial times as a forerunner in a World Cup GS held on his home-run at Flachau. Using the blue Spider dress he received from a US snowboarder, he finally attracted the attention of the Austrian head coaches.

He won the Overall Europacup standings and went to the World Cup finals in Lillehammer in March. He came in 11th in Super-G.

Finally, after a long struggle, he was qualified for the national ski team - his long search for national recognition has succeeded. He only needed a short time to also gain respect and admiration from the rest of the ski world.

Maier's dedication and talent propelled him rapidly to the top: in November 1996 he scored his first top-10 finish in GS at Park City. Later that season at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he fulfilled his first dream of winning a World Cup event -- the Super-G. A month earlier, he broke a hand in crashing in his first ever World Cup downhill held at Chamonix which forced him to rest for several weeks.

Only a year later Maier became the first Austrian man to win the Overall World Cup since Karl Schranz's in 1970. He became a world famous hero at the Olympics at Nagano in winning two gold medals after surviving a horrible crash in the downhill. These achievements also promoted his nickname "The Herminator" given to him by his teammates because of his aggressive, no-prisoner-of-war attitude on course.

Yet during the last season, Hermann learned to better control his aggressiveness and his manners on and off the courses which helped him to win some races without taking 100% risks as in the "old days". With the support of the Austrian staff lead by Toni Giger, Maier set himself a long-term plan in order to better handle the risks of accidents. He also handles better the pressure of the press and he enjoys his stardom among the crowds.

Hermann, who turns 28 in December, aims to compete until the Olympics at Salt Lake City in 2002. He has more records to set and more gold medals to win at the St Anton's Worlds in 2001 and in Utah. To win the Olympic downhill at Snowbasin would be a fantastic way to leave the white scene after the 2002 Finals at Flachau - eventually to start a career as an actor in the US.