Has 21 World Cup victories

ÖSV star ends his career after winning Olympic silver

In February, Sabine Payer also won the silver medal at the Olympics.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

21 World Cup victories, three World Championship medals, and, as the crowning achievement, a silver medal at the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy. But now snowboard star Sabine Payer is ending her amazing career: “The silver medal was a great happy ending—after 16 seasons on the World Cup circuit, it’s the right time.”

With her victories at the 2009 Junior World Championships in Nagano, Japan (parallel giant slalom) and 2010 in Snow Park, New Zealand (parallel slalom), Payer—who was still competing under her maiden name, Schöffmann, at the time—showed her great potential early on. Her star finally rose for good at her home event in December 2014, when she won the World Cup parallel slalom in Montafon. 

After 21 World Cup victories, Sabine Payer is hanging up her snowboard.(Bild: Alessandro Annaloro)

49 World Cup podium finishes
Over the next twelve years, she added another 20 World Cup victories, including 13 in individual events and eight in team events. In total, she secured an impressive 49 podium finishes at the highest level. The 33-year-old has won the big crystal globe in the parallel discipline twice. 

Only one Olympic appearance
Payer struggled with major events for a long time. It wasn’t until 2023 in Bakuriani (Georgia) that she won two medals: bronze in the slalom and silver in the mixed team event with Andi Promegger. In 2025, the duo added a team bronze in St. Moritz. But the absolute highlight came at the 2026 Olympics, when Payer won the silver medal in her first and only Olympic appearance (she was injured in 2018, and a positive COVID-19 test prevented her from competing in 2022!).

It’s not an easy decision to end one’s career. But after 16 seasons on the World Cup circuit, it’s the right time, and it feels right.

Snowboard-Ass Sabine PAYER

Home Victories as Highlights
Another highlight, of course, was her four World Cup victories on her home mountain, Simonhöhe: “That was very special to me; the sport has given me so much in return.”

“There’s a touch of sadness”
But now it’s time for Payer to hang up her snowboard boots: “The Olympics, where I won the silver medal, were an incredibly beautiful happy ending and a cool conclusion to an amazing time during which I was able to experience so much. I was already happy just to be on the starting line in Livigno, given my history there. So it was all the more wonderful to win silver and receive congratulations from many of my competitors, who were happy for me. It’s not an easy decision to end my career. Of course, there’s a bit of sadness involved, but after 16 seasons on the World Cup circuit, it’s the right time, and it feels right, too.”