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Report nowSki racer Lara Gut-Behrami is retiring. The native of Ticino is stepping down after a career that was remarkable in many ways.
She stuck with it for a long time—certainly longer than she herself ever thought possible. Lara Gut-Behrami stuck with it for so long because her passion for the sport wouldn’t allow her to retire any sooner, but above all because, in the final phase of her career, she prioritized the joy of what she was doing over the results and focused on enjoying the experience. That joy is also what made her hesitate to announce her retirement from elite sports. A good eight months after her second serious injury to her left knee, she has now made her decision.
Gut-Behrami has nearly 20 years of elite competition at the highest level behind her. Her long-standing presence among the world’s best is, in itself, an extraordinary achievement. But Gut-Behrami has had far more to offer over the years. With the retirement of this 35-year-old from Ticino, we are saying goodbye to a ski racer whose legacy is more than just a flawless record of athletic success—a career that will also be remembered for its various twists and turns, trials, and tribulations.
Her career is also a story with many personal elements that chronicles her journey to adulthood—a story in which an athlete must learn at a young age that success has two sides, that it can also be overwhelming, and that it leaves little room for a normal life. Gut-Behrami played along with this game for a long time, often against her will—without wanting to admit to herself that many aspects of her private life were spiraling out of control, and that the price of fame and glory can soar to unreasonable heights.
It took some time for the woman from Ticino to turn her back on that kind of life, to question many things, and to doubt even more. It took that serious injury to her left knee at the World Championships in St. Moritz nearly ten years ago for her to come to terms with the difficult situation and find a way to bring not only her body and mind, but also her life as an athlete and as a person, into balance.
During her rehabilitation at that time, Gut-Behrami focused not only on healing her torn cruciate ligament and meniscus injury, but also on her inner self—and came to the conclusion that, far too often, her humanity had fallen by the wayside, and that far too much had revolved around her as an athlete.
Gut-Behrami reflected far beyond the world of competitive skiing; she questioned her role. Being perceived solely as a top athlete was no longer enough for her. She was tired of being reduced solely to her profession, in which she was expected to meet the expectations of others and deliver top performances one after another. She also demanded recognition and respect as a woman. From then on, now alongside her husband, former international soccer player Valon Behrami, she allowed herself more time away from the public eye.
Valon and Lara attending a national team game in 2019.
KEYSTONE
Life under constant scrutiny was definitely no longer Gut-Behrami’s world—a world in which she had never really felt at ease anyway. The difficult situations, for which she saw no way out, had piled up to an overwhelming extent. She was tired of always having to explain and justify herself. She shifted her priorities and took the liberty of “just being a woman.” Her decision to take a break between race days and skip any appointments was the right one. The structured balance between the slopes and her personal life suited her well.
The results speak for themselves. This balance has made Gut-Behrami an even more successful skier in the second half of her career. In the World Cup, she has claimed 25 of her 48 victories since her second long injury layoff; two winters ago, eight years after winning her first Crystal Globe, she clinched the overall title for the second time. In addition, she was named the best Super-G skier six times—more than any other skier. She secured the small glass trophy as the No. 1 in the giant slalom standings once.
At major events, Gut-Behrami was more successful than ever before following her second long hiatus. Five years ago in Cortina d'Ampezzo, during her seventh appearance at the World Championships, she won her first titles thanks to gold medals in the super-G and giant slalom; the following winter in Beijing, during her third appearance at the Olympic Games, she closed the last major gap in her list of achievements with a victory in the Super-G.
From the very beginning, Gut-Behrami and her family had opted for independence—for their own team—rather than being integrated into the national federation’s squads and structures. Her trusted circle offered her the guarantee of greater freedom and self-determination. She accepted that this would place additional pressure on her to run a small business on her own.
Throughout her long career, Gut-Behrami has found the key to achieving her big goals and living up to expectations. She has combined her talent with the right ingredients—willpower and ambition, conviction, self-confidence, and just the right amount of stubbornness. She has stuck to this formula over the years. It has proven to be the foundation that transformed her from a highly talented skier into a highly decorated one. But her story also includes the fact that she’s often gotten the mix wrong, adding one ingredient or another in excessive amounts—with many unpleasant consequences as a result. She, who has won plenty of trophies—including two large and seven small World Cup globes—has also broken quite a few dishes.
Lara Gut-Behrami has never been afraid to speak her mind.
KEYSTONE
Gut-Behrami’s career was marked by escapades, conflicts, arguments, and squabbles. All these sources of turmoil stemmed from her stubbornness, which was arguably more pronounced in the southern Swiss native than in many of her competitors. But without this commitment to her own standards, without her belief in their validity, the extraordinary ski racer Lara Gut-Behrami would in all likelihood never have existed.
With Gut-Behrami, we’ve seen the end of an era—a skier who didn’t shy away from confrontation, who rubbed people the wrong way, who polarized opinion, but who also left herself open to criticism because of her behavior. She fought most of her battles with her team behind her, without compromise and regardless of the cost. Even the knowledge that this unwavering stance would have consequences did not stop her. The belief that she was in the right and being misunderstood overshadowed any thoughts about the consequences of her behavior.
Of course, it would be an exaggeration to compare the length of the list of side issues with the list of all her achievements. But it is certainly extensive. Among other things, it reflects controversies with the leadership of Swiss-Ski over demands made during the formation of Lara Gut’s private team. At that time, the Ticino native was still a teenager and had only a handful of World Cup starts under her belt. The list continues, ranging from the threatened appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne to examine her rights and obligations toward the national federation, all the way to a two-race suspension from World Cup events in Austria.
For Swiss-Ski officials, dealing with Lara Gut-Behrami wasn't always easy.
KEYSTONE
Swiss-Ski officials responded by suspending her from the giant slalom and slalom events in Semmering in December 2010 in response to the rebellious athlete’s public criticism of head coach Mauro Pini and her violations of the federation’s dress code. “He—Pini—doesn’t have the qualities needed to be a leader,” the Ticino native had said in an interview with the Italian newspaper *Gazzetta dello Sport*, taking a swipe at her former personal coach.
Needless to say, Gut-Behrami’s public image took a hit. The “nation’s sweetheart” became the “bitch,” and the “talent” became the “unteachable one.” Her first signs of being not only a very good skier but also, at times, a difficult person to deal with were met with a lack of understanding in many quarters. Of course, Gut-Behrami cared about her reputation. Nevertheless, she stuck to her strategies and plans. For her, the path she had chosen remained the only right one.
Her first health setback occurred during this period of rebranding—seven and a half years before the fatal fall during the warm-up for the combined slalom at the World Championships in St. Moritz. A hip dislocation, sustained during training in Saas-Fee, forced her to sit out an entire season and prevented her from making her Olympic debut in Vancouver 16 years ago.
One Olympics later, in Sochi, Gut-Behrami won bronze in the downhill—which wasn’t enough for her, as she had been aiming for gold. She didn’t hold back her disappointment—and once again faced fierce criticism for it. Another four years later, the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, also did not go as Gut-Behrami had hoped. In the super-G, she missed the win by twelve hundredths of a second and another bronze medal by one hundredth of a second.
The most successful Swiss skier of all time is retiring.
Associated Press
Coming to terms with the five rings turned into a test of patience. The gold medal in the Super-G at the Beijing Games unleashed a wave of emotion rarely seen in Gut-Behrami. The tears on that Saturday in February four years ago in Yanqing were a sign of relief and satisfaction. Standing in the finish area was a special skier who had fulfilled her final dream as an athlete—and had completed the final act in the crowning achievement of her extraordinary career. It was the perfect day—one that alone made it worth persevering for so long.
05.08.2026, 19:50
05.08.2026, 20:35
