Born in Brixlegg, Tyrol, Eberharter was the winner of the overall World Cup title in 2002 and 2003, as well as the season titles in downhill and super-G. He was the nearest rival of compatriot Hermann Maier in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Eberharter retired from international competition following the conclusion of the 2003–04 season.

Career

Eberharter made his World Cup debut during the 1990 season at age 20, where he finished 32nd in the overall standings. The next year he finished second in the super-G standings and won two gold medals at the 1991 World Championships in Saalbach, the super-G and combined. He was voted the Austrian Sportspersonality of the year for 1991.

After injury setbacks, he became particularly successful in the downhill event, and finished third in the downhill standings in 1998 and was the runner-up in 2001. His nemesis on the snow, teammate Maier, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in August 2001 which sidelined him for the 2002 season. In Maier's absence, Eberharter went on to take the overall World Cup title (and downhill and super-G) in 2002 and 2003. His 2004 victory at the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel is often regarded as one of the most impressive downhill victories in alpine skiing history, besting runner-up Daron Rahlves by a lengthy 1.21 seconds, an equivalent of 142 feet (43 m) at 80 mph (130 km/h).

Eberharter enjoyed success at the World Championships and Olympic Games as well. In 1991 in Saalbach, he won two gold medals in the super-G and combined events. Twelve years later, at St. Moritz in 2003, he took gold in the super-G event again. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he finished second in the giant slalom, but went on to take gold in the same event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he also won the bronze medal in the downhill, and took silver in the super-G.^[1]

In his final season in 2004, Eberharter won four downhills and the downhill season title; he had twelve podiums, was second in the overall standings, and third in Super-G.^[2]

World Cup results

Season titles

7 titles – (2 overall, 3 DH, 2 SG)

Season	Discipline
2002	Overall
	Downhill
	Super-G
2003	Overall
	Downhill
	Super-G
2004	Downhill

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
1990	20	32	—	18	14	—	—
1991	21	12	—	7	2	—	5
1992	22	36	25	43	27	57	5
1993	23	29	33	42	12	50	10
1994	24
1995	25	104	—	—	51	45	—
1996	26
1997	27
1998	28	3	—	4	3	3	9
1999	29	4	—	2	2	4	—
2000	30	6	—	16	7	6	9
2001	31	2	—	21	4	2	—
2002	32	1	—	3	1	1	–
2003	33	1	—	16	1	1	12
2004	34	2	—	29	3	1	22

Race victories

29 wins – (18 DH, 6 SG, 5 GS)
75 podiums – (38 DH, 24 SG, 13 GS)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline
1998	14 Mar 1998	Crans-Montana, Switzerland	Giant slalom
1999	20 Nov 1998	Park City, USA	Giant slalom
	27 Nov 1998	Aspen, USA	Super-G
	27 Feb 1999	Ofterschwang, Germany	Giant slalom
2001	25 Nov 2000	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill
2001	3 Mar 2001	Kvitfjell, Norway	Downhill
2002	7 Dec 2001	Val-d'Isère, France	Super-G
	8 Dec 2001	Val-d'Isère, France	Downhill
	15 Dec 2001	Val Gardena, Italy	Downhill
	12 Jan 2002	Wengen, Switzerland	Downhill
	18 Jan 2002	Kitzbühel, Austria	Super-G
	19 Jan 2002	Kitzbühel, Austria	Downhill
	27 Jan 2002	Garmisch, Germany	Super-G
	2 Feb 2002	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Downhill
	3 Feb 2002	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Giant slalom
	6 Mar 2002	Altenmarkt, Austria	Downhill
2003	27 Oct 2002	Sölden, Austria	Giant slalom
	30 Nov 2002	Lake Louise, Canada	Downhill
	1 Dec 2002	Lake Louise, Canada	Super-G
	7 Dec 2002	Beaver Creek, USA	Downhill
	14 Dec 2002	Val-d'Isère, France	Downhill
	11 Jan 2003	Bormio, Italy	Downhill
	17 Jan 2003	Wengen, Switzerland	Downhill
	22 Feb 2003	Garmisch, Germany	Downhill
	13 Mar 2003	Kvitfjell, Norway	Super-G
2004	10 Jan 2004	Chamonix, France	Downhill
	24 Jan 2004	Kitzbühel, Austria	Downhill
	31 Jan 2004	Garmisch, Germany	Downhill
	6 Mar 2004	Kvitfjell, Norway	Downhill