Biography

His name, Omar, came to his father in a dream and proved to be the perfect linguistic compromise between his parents – one an Italian teacher at a hospitality school, the other a former primary school teacher of German. He started skiing at six but discovered snowboarding during a winter holiday and never looked back, even putting his Economics studies on hold during his career.

His trophy cabinet features two Olympic podiums and two world championship medals, and in the World Cup he has always found a way to leave his authoritative mark. He claimed the overall title in 2014 and stood on the podium in four other seasons. He loves surfing, kayaking down rivers and playing classical country guitar. He hopes to play his winning tune on the course at the Milano Cortina Games.