Found an error?
Report now
SRF presenter Flurina Janutin is all about what happens on the slopes - and how the ski racers feel, regardless of whether they win or lose.
Picture: SRF
Despite top performances, women are underrepresented in sport and sports journalism. So cheers to a woman who ventures into a world that once belonged only to men: SRF reporter Flurina Janutin.
I've been a ski fan since I was a child - and in all those years sitting in front of the TV box, I've seen many a presenter and many an expert. And often enough I've gotten know-it-all excited.
As a child I was a fan of Karl Erb, later I was thrilled by the duo Matthias Hüppi and Bernhard Russi. Since this winter, I have a new number one: SRF reporter Flurina Janutin.
The former ski racer has everything it takes to be successful in this medium: qualifications, a good sense of language, a lot of wit and great enthusiasm for the subject matter.
For Flurina Janutin, ski racing is not a stage on which she puts herself in order to present herself. The 27-year-old from Graubünden is interested in what happens on the slopes - and how ski racers feel, regardless of whether they win or lose.
Asking the right questions? Check. Making the TV audience happy? Check. Have fun yourself? Check.
February 4, 1989 marked a turning point in Swiss television SRF's sports broadcasts: Fiammetta Devecchi became the first woman to present "Sportpanorama".
Anyone entering the male-dominated world of TV sport as a woman today - no less than 37 years after Devecchi's arrival - is still often met with an icy wind.
February 4, 1989 marked a turning point in sports broadcasting on Swiss television SRF: Fiammetta Devecchi was the first woman to present "Sportpanorama".
Picture: SRF
There is also often an impertinent undertone, as if women were pitiable exotic women who are only allowed to play a bit part once.
I ignore that. And you can bet Flurina Janutin does too.
"Women in sports journalism. We've come to stay," wrote Steffi Buchli, then editor-in-chief of sports at "Blick", in a commentary in 2021.
Shortly before, SRF commentator Michèle Schönbächler had announced that she would no longer commentate on ski races.
Buchli continues: "Schönbächler's withdrawal - whether it was voluntary or not - rather shows that it still takes a pretty tough shell to survive this combination of spotlight and headwind."
Ski fans will remember: Flurina Janutin has also had to take a beating. After Wendy Holdener was eliminated from the slalom in Courchevel in January 2025, the SRF reporter asked the ski racer whether the French ski resort was perhaps not well-disposed towards her.
Holdener's answer: "I think it's really bad. I've had such good results here, and just because you're eliminated once doesn't mean it's bad."
Janutin showed greatness and apologized to Holdener: "I'm sorry that I put it like that." However, "Blick" only knew how to make a headline out of it: "Wendy Holdener is annoyed by SRF reporter Janutin."
"Women in sports journalism. We have come to stay": Steffi Buchli.
Picture: SRF
I stand by my opinion: Flurina Janutin is doing a great job.
In my professional career as a journalist, I've done quite well with a mixture of carefreeness and naivety. I have a similar view of the SRF reporter: she doesn't allow herself to be driven by judgment or excitement.
She remains calm, clear and on her own course.
Immediately after a World Cup race, ski racers are often tense, exhausted or emotional - especially after a defeat.
This winter, Flurina Janutin has proven that she asks the right questions when the going gets tough - and doesn't shy away from answering them.
Conclusion: very strong.
