Martin Niefnecker

Follow

Since the age of six, Martin Niefnecker has been lacing his skates to play ice hockey. The German athlete enjoys it because it's fast, it's hard, it's extreme, and it's a team sport that he can practice during winter. Martin has been champion of the highest junior hockey league in Germany and also spends a lot of time skiing - the speed and the obstacles are similar to those he faces at Red Bull Crashed Ice. As he was attending the Red Bull Crashed Ice qualifier in Augsburg, a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany, back in 2007, he got the fever and wanted to compete in the new sport called ice cross downhill. He had only one goal in mind: beat Jasper Felder, the most decorated athlete in ice cross downhill history with seven victories and coach of the Swedish team. Martin was able to step on the podium in 2010 with a first place in Munich, Germany, and a second place in Quebec City, Canada, to become world champion.