Stephan Eberharter (AUT)

DOB:  03/24/1969  Hometown:  Strumm

Stephan Eberharter had a solid '98-'99 season, finishing nine World Cup races on the podium, including three victories. But he was shut out at the FIS World Championships at Vail. The Tyrolian missed the podium twice by just a few hundredths of a second — he came in fourth in super G and fifth in downhill, and skied out in his only other event, giant slalom. However, his problems in Vail proved short-lived. When Eberharter returned to the World Cup tour, he finished in the top-three in Ofterschwang and Kvitfjell in three different specialties.

Eberharter started last season strong with two consecutive victories in giant slalom and super G in Park City and Aspen, beating Austrian teammate Hermann Maier for the first time since December '97. Eberharter also came in second at Sölden and Val d'Isère, but he couldn't keep up the pace in January. Overall, he ended up fourth in the final World Cup standings. At 30, he is still fighting for greater achievement after promising results in the early '90s.

A double World Champion in '91 at Saalbach in super G and combined, Eberharter faced several difficult seasons in the following years. Often injured, he almost got booted off the Austrian team. Then he won the Europacup in '97 which automatically qualified him for the World Cup tour. He trained hard to take advantage of his big chance, and despite high start numbers, he was able to score impressive top-five finishes in early races. By January '98, he had worked his way back into the first seed. At Nagano, Eberharter captured a superb silver medal in giant slalom after skiing out in super G. Amazingly, he didn't qualify for the Austrian downhill squad. Three weeks later, he dominated the last giant slalom of the season in Crans-Montana, celebrating his first win on the World Cup tour.

A fan of other extreme sports like paragliding, Eberharter races with lots of confidence. That fearless determination should help him achieve more success in the coming seasons.