He has gone almost a year without a podium finish, with two 8th places as his best result of the season - and he's not a bit worried: Ryan Regez is astounding in the Olympic winter with a new calmness.
30.01.2026, 05:15
30.01.2026, 07:27
SDA
Ryan Regez is actually a thoughtful, reflective person. Someone who questions many things, who sometimes doubts himself, who tends to "overthink". That was the case before his Olympic victory in Beijing in 2022, that was the case before his World Championship triumph in St. Moritz last spring.
It seemed as if Regez needed this mental cinema of questions and doubts to push himself to the limit. In an early phase of his life as an athlete, he was not at a loss for shrill and sometimes polarizing appearances, nor for casual remarks, and his sentences often contained more depth than it appeared at first glance. Sometimes a pinch of insecurity resonated in the nuances.
At peace with himself and the world
In the Olympic winter of 2025/26, we now get to know a different Ryan Regez. A person who is at peace with himself and the world. Who now enjoys what he does as much as he should and is allowed to. Who doesn't allow disappointing races or training times to unsettle him or upset him. Who is no longer driven by the feeling of having to prove something to himself and everyone else. "I'm at a point where everything fits together," says the ski cross racer from Wengen.
Olympic victory, World Championship gold, winning the overall World Cup: at the age of 32, Ryan Regez has won all the most important trophies in his sport. Above all, the experience of the lengthy injury, the second cruciate ligament rupture of his career, which put him out of action for more than a year from December 2022, has allowed him to grow as a person, says the former alpine racer.
While Olympic gold and the overall World Cup were a big motivation for a long time and he fell into a mental hole in spring 2022 when he achieved these goals, the pure joy of ski cross now keeps him going. "I enjoy this sport so much. The combination of pleasure and hard work gives me so much," says Regez. He appreciates being an athlete, that he can organize his days freely and that he is very flexible. In short: "No, I'm not ready to call it quits yet."
One for day X
The results so far this winter could cause a confusion of thoughts. After seven races, his best results are two 8th places, the other times he finished outside the top 16. But experience has taught Regez that the inner feeling is more important than the bare results. "No need to get nervous. In my best seasons, I always took things slowly. I've learned that it's worth taking the risk at certain moments."
The optimal preparation in the summer contributes to the good feeling, but also the certainty that he can rely on his abilities on day X: He competed once at the Olympic Games and won gold. He competed in three World Championship races and triumphed twice (including the team competition with Fanny Smith in the previous season). In the World Cup, he only won seven of 98 races, but when he needed the victories for the overall World Cup, he won them. Yes, Ryan Regez is a man for the big races - something like the Swiss Mr. Big Event.
