Stephan Keppler is a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 alpine skier

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

.

Keppler grew up in Albstadt

Albstadt

Albstadt is a city in the district of Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Swabian Alb mountains, about halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance...

, a town on the Swabian Alb

Swabian Alb

The Swabian Alps or Swabian Jura is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia....

, in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

. He learned skiing at his local winter sports club, WSV, of Ebingen

Ebingen

Ebingen is a town in the large district of Albstadt, district Zollernalbkreis, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Schmiecha, a left-hand tributary of the Danube, south of Tübingen and west of Ulm.- History :...

. As an adult, he joined the Bundeswehr

Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

, the German military, as an army-sponsored athlete (German: "Sportsoldat").

In 1999, he took part in his first FIS

International Ski Federation

The International Ski Federation, known by its name in French, Fédération Internationale de Ski is the main international organisation for ski sports...

 races. In the same season, he won the German youth championship in the slalom

Slalom

To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It can refer to:Sports:*Alpine Slalom skiing*Whitewater slalom/kayaking*Freestyle slalom skating*Slalom skateboarding*Slalom water skiing*Slalom ice skating*Slalom windsurfing...

, in 2003 in the giant slalom and Super G competitions.

Since 2003, Keppler has been starting in races of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, with his debut at Garmisch on February 22. At the same location, he earned his first points in that competition in 2006, finishing 21st in the downhill

Downhill

Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....

. In that same year, he won the German championship in downhill and Super G; this success was followed up by the same title in the Super G in 2007.

Keppler took part in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2007 in Åre

Åre

Åre is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,260 inhabitants in 2005. It is however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the municipal industry is based on tourism, most notably the downhill...

, but could not reach any satisfying result there. In the following FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 in Val-d’Isère he could improve his performances, with results in the top 20 in the downhill and Alpine skiing combined

Alpine skiing combined

Combined is an alpine skiing event. Although not technically a discipline of its own, it is sometimes referred to as a fifth alpine discipline, along with downhill, super G, giant slalom, and slalom.-Traditional & Super-Combined:...

 competitions.

He represented Germany at the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

. In the downhill

Downhill

Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....

 event he finished 24th and in Super-G could not finish the course.

His biggest success so far came early in the 2010/11 World Cup

2011 Alpine Skiing World Cup

The 45th FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season began on 23 October 2010, in Sölden, Austria, and concluded on 20 March 2011, at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.Being an odd-numbered year, the biennial World Championships took place in February...

 season, when he came in 2nd, only beaten by Michael Walchhofer

Michael Walchhofer

Michael Walchhofer is a former Austrian alpine ski racer. He started his career in slalom, but then moved over to the speed events. During his career he won the downhill world cup three times, one silver medal at Olympics Games, and one gold, two silver and one bronze medal at World Ski...

, in the Super G at Gröden/Val Gardena, South Tyrol

South Tyrol

South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...

, on December 17, 2010. Overall, he has reached the top 10 four times in his World Cup career.