Benjamin Karl

• Sport: Olympic Snowboarding
• Nation: Austria
• DOB: October 16, 1985
• Career Highlights: Karl made his World Cup tour debut in 2004 in snowboardcross, but that was his first and last race there before switching to parallel giant slalom. Now, he's the reigning parallel and overall world champion. Karl has looked like a snowboarder on a mission over the past two years, finishing on the podium 15 times in 19 races. He finished first in the overall World Cup standings in 2008 and a close second behind fellow Austrian - and good friend Siegfried Grabner - in 2009, though that season was hampered by an ankle injury. Overall, Karl has won six World Cup events in 45 starts, finishing on the podium 11 times. One of those first-place finishes came in his latest race, when he took gold on Oct. 9 in a parallel slalom event in the Netherlands.
• Olympic History: None