Camille Rast, the second-best giant slalom racer this season, cannot improve the Swiss women's results in Cortina. After finishing 12th, she has harsh words for the Olympic slope.
15.02.2026, 16:28
15.02.2026, 17:25
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- Camille Rast is disappointed in the Olympic giant slalom, missing out on a medal and finishing in 12th place.
- After the race, the Swiss athlete's frustration is palpable. "I'll be glad when the Olympics are over soon. It's a lot of effort for 'only' two races," says Rast.
- She also sharply criticizes the Olympic track for the technicians and speaks of "a junior track with 44 seconds".
Camille Rast's laughter is tortured at the end of a series of interviews. At one point she says: "I'll be glad when the Olympics are over soon. It's a lot of effort for 'just' two races. I'm looking forward to our normal rhythm in the World Cup." Oops. But there's still the Olympic slalom next Wednesday?
"Yes, on a junior course with 44 seconds," replies Rast and his laughter becomes even more tortured. "Of course I'm looking forward to the slalom on Wednesday. But we've seen the course, which is already very short. In the team combined, the run took 44 seconds - that was almost a junior race. I think that's a shame."
Her enthusiasm for the Olympic slope in Cortina is limited. "It's a shame, there's a great slalom slope right over there," she says. But because the days of gigantism are supposed to be over at the Olympics too, there is only one finish stadium and the technicians will have to make do with the lower part of the speed course, which is not tailored to their needs.
Rast's result at the Olimpia delle Tofane was the second worst of the season after the season opener in Sölden. In the last seven giant slaloms, the 26-year-old from Valais has never finished lower than fifth, but now it was a disappointing 12th place. However, in an extremely close race - behind the superior winner Federica Brignone - Rast was only 37 hundredths off the podium.
Two mistakes are two too many
Last year's slalom world champion also knew exactly where she had lost the crucial time. "In both runs, I didn't get a turn right and didn't keep up the speed," she analyzed. "I paid dearly for that. On such simple snow, on a simple piste and with a simple course setting, you have to get right to the point." In the World Cup, they would usually be skiing on much more challenging terrain and more twisting courses.
Other co-favorites also struggled. World Cup dominator Julia Scheib (four wins, two 2nd places) missed out on a medal in fifth place by seven hundredths, two-time season winner Alice Robinson in eighth place by 18 hundredths and Mikaela Shiffrin in eleventh place directly ahead of Rast. However, Federica Brignone disproved the theory that the piste was too easy and that it was hardly possible to make the difference, as did Sara Hector, who followed up her Olympic victory in Beijing with silver.
The value of an Olympic medal
In the end, Rast is somewhat fatalistic. She showed last year in Saalbach in the slalom that she can certainly shine at major events. And before the start in Cortina, she emphasized that it was called the Olympic "Games", so the whole thing should be seen as a game. However, enthusiasm has not really been generated.
"The question is how much an Olympic medal is worth," she muses. "I think the consistency over a whole season and the difficulty of each race is something else." But she doesn't want to let it spoil her mood. "It's always nice to have a medal, but the World Cup season has gone so well so far and I hope I can show some good things in the next races."
She is probably not referring to the Olympic slalom, but with her class she is certainly capable of winning a medal despite the easy course.
Kasper and Piller are struggling
Vanessa Kasper and Sue Piller were two other Swiss women at the start alongside Rast. However, they were unable to achieve a top position: "I had the feeling that I tried everything in the second run. I attacked well, something that was missing in the first run. But then I made a mistake in the stupidest place of all places - at the exit of the only small slope at the top - and then the km/h was missing at the bottom. From then on, it was really all over," says Vanessa Kasper (23rd) and adds: "I tried to fight, but it just wasn't enough for a good result."
It sounds similar for Piller. "I was a bit braver in the second run, which meant I made a few mistakes that are immediately punished in these conditions. That cost me time, but I haven't quite analyzed it yet," said the 20-year-old, who finished the race in 24th place.
