Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl has responded to the criticism of his comeback. Speaking to the "Tiroler Tageszeitung", the 40-year-old two-time Olympic champion talked about his ÖSV teammates' objections, the hostility he has faced on social media and how his wife Nina reacted.
After winning his second Olympic gold in Livigno, Karl declared his career over at the end of last winter. He planned to switch to cycling, specifically cyclocross, and chase Olympic medals there in 2030. As Heute reports, cyclocross was not added to the Olympic programme. In early September, the winner of 24 World Cup races announced he would carry on in parallel snowboarding.
A broken collarbone and a 3 a.m. decision
Karl explained his change of heart by saying he was more a snowboarder who cycles than a cyclist who snowboards. Over the summer he broke his collarbone in a bike crash at Lake Wörthersee, after which, he said, he asked himself how many more setbacks he needed.
He woke up at 3 a.m. and told Nina about his plans. According to Karl, she seemed almost relieved that he was sticking with snowboarding, though she advised him to sleep on it for another night. His mind was made up anyway: he realised in that moment that he gets to do what he called the best job in the world.
Prommegger and Payer voice concerns
The comeback did not go down well inside the team. In comments to the "Krone", Andreas Prommegger said he did not see it as a positive, while Alexander Payer warned that team chemistry was at risk.
Karl brushed the criticism aside, saying that anyone who spends as many years on the snowboard circuit as he has, dealing with the same people over such a long period, will run into friction and differing opinions. He is not looking for a fight. Instead, he said, he wants to contribute to a positive team atmosphere and support the younger riders, naming his friend Arvid Auner as an example. There remains room for conversations, he added, since the team spends a lot of time travelling together.
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The criticism has not only come from within the team. Karl described social media as brutal, with anyone, anonymous or not, able to post comments under a post whether relevant or not. He is still facing pushback over remarks on the "Mindgames" podcast, where he spoke about the clear division of roles in his household.
Karl said he wished people could forgive him the odd misstep. The shitstorm and the hate, he said, do not leave him cold, but he has learned how to deal with it.
On his family, Karl said people and their goals change over time and then need to be brought back in sync, which sometimes causes sparks to fly. He said he was grateful that he and Nina keep finding a common path.
