Lara Gut-Behrami speaks plain text: emotional change in the Swiss ski team!

Lara Gut-Behrami speaks plain text: emotional change in the Swiss ski team!

After a surprising silver medal in the team combination at the skiing world championship in Saalbach, Lara Gut-Behrami not only celebrated her sporting success, but also dared to confront her former coach Mauro Pini. The 33-year-old Swiss skier, who has already achieved eight world championship medals in her long career, spoke openly about the tensions that prevailed in her time in the Swiss ski team. "Wendy and I would certainly not have started together eight or nine years ago," she said in the SRF studio after the medal handover. According to Gut-Behrami, Pini, who has looked after Gut-Behrami since her beginnings, had tried to play out the teammates against each other, which led to a significant burden on relationships among the athletes. This is also evident from a report from Blick, which addresses the tense conditions within the team.

Not only the positive development of the team was an issue, but also the emotional situation in which Gut-Behrami and her combination partner Wendy Holdener are located. During the celebrations in Saalbach, where the two shone with their silver medal, Holdener could not hold back and wiped a tear that reminded of the grief for their deceased brother. "I had sadness in myself," she said, referring to the loss she experienced a year ago. This illustrates how deep the emotions for the two athletes are and how they can stand together despite personal challenges and celebrate success.

tensions and reconciliation

The relationships within the team have changed. Gut-Behrami emphasized that team dynamics are different today and that working with Holdener gave her a new perspective as an athlete. "To this day, I would never have thought that team sport made sense," she summed up in the SRF studio, which speaks for a significant turn in her attitude. While she and Holdener are now fighting together for success, Pini, who is now a coach of competitor Petra Vlhova, remains a shadow of the past. Gut-Behrami is more than ready to leave the hard years behind and to focus on the positive sides of her sporting career, while she has rediscovered the importance of team spirit and cooperation, as BLICK also reported.