Brotherhood

Twin brothers, the Mahres were born in Yakima, Washington State, on May 10th, 1957: Phil is four minutes younger, as he says in every interview. They were raised in a very large family, with other seven siblings, and they are the perfect incarnation of a certain American Dream: solid family values, determination in pursuing goals.

Skiers, they have known success indeed. Especially Steve: between 1976 and 1984 he gained 27 world victories, and the World Cup in 1982. Steve, for his part, has one Olympic medal, a silver, and nine World Cup victories. They find themselves together also in defeats, including the most bitter one: on January 16th, 1983, in Parpan, Steve’s victory is set aside because of a wrong exchange of bibs with his twin, an act which was considered fraudulent by the jury, even despite of the competitors’ friendly witnesses. Their delusion – along with a defamatory press campaign – causes a premature retirement for the both of them, after the 1984 Winter Olympic Games of Sarajevo: they were just 21 years old. Anyway, it is not a sad goodbye. “A lot of athletes struggle with retirement”, Phil says. “I couldn’t have cared less. I could have walked away from skiing anytime I wanted and it wouldn’t have bothered me one way or the other because it didn’t define me”. In fact, they reinvent themselves as coaches, with a training centre in Park City, Utah.

United all the time, together all the time.