Camille Rast celebrates her second win of the season in Flachau and leads not only the Slalom World Cup but also the overall World Cup rankings. Considering her rocky path, this is nothing short of a miracle.
15.01.2025, 07:29
15.01.2025, 14:41
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- Camille Rast confirms her top form in Flachau too. The Valais skier wins the night slalom ahead of teammate Wendy Holdener.
- The 25-year-old has already had to cope with a few setbacks in her career. At one point, Rast no longer saw any point in ski racing and wanted to end her career.
- She had slipped not only physically but also mentally into a veritable crisis. But with a fighter's heart, Rast found a way out and has now reached the top of the world.
She herself can't quite believe what has happened this winter. "It's unbelievable," says Camille Rast on Tuesday evening after her victory in the night slalom in Flachau. With a strong performance in the 2nd run, the French-Swiss skier improved from 7th place to 1st place.
Rast thus confirms the outstanding performances she has been showing since the start of the season. In the ten races in the technical disciplines so far, she has only failed to finish in the top 5 three times - each time in the giant slalom. The victory in Flachau is her second in the World Cup after her premiere in Killington. Once again, Rast wins ahead of her compatriot Wendy Holdener.
Things are going like clockwork for the skier from Valais. She leads the overall World Cup standings with 533 points. And that is anything but a matter of course. After all, the 25-year-old has already suffered a few setbacks in her career.
The rocky road
She, who once started so brilliantly in the World Cup and shone as a teenager eight years ago in the giant slalom in Kronplatz in South Tyrol, in only her fifth start at the highest level, with 9th place, has had to endure a lot in order to now come up with performances that would have been expected of her, the highly talented athlete, even earlier - if the path to the top had not contained so many obstacles.
Camille Rast was only 18 years old when her health threw a spanner in the works for the first time. Not only did Pfeiffer's glandular fever keep her away from the racetracks for a long time, it also gnawed at her psyche. During this phase, she had not only slipped into a veritable crisis physically, but also mentally.
The depression caused her to lose the joy of being a top athlete. The mental hole was so deep that she no longer saw any point in ski racing. Her parents asked her to sell her skis and all her equipment.
In 2022, Rast spoke to the magazine "Sportlerin" about the dark times. It was about existential questions: "Why do I live? What do I live for? What am I supposed to do in this world? And: Do I even need to be here?"
Rast: "I felt useless. I had no energy. It was a terrible state that I could no longer stand." Looking back, Rast noted: "You don't forget it for the rest of your life if you no longer wanted to live." You always live with the uncertainty of whether these dark thoughts will come back. But she is no longer afraid.
The serious injury and the way back
Then there was the cruciate ligament rupture she suffered in her right knee almost six years ago in a fall in the first run of the slalom at the Swiss Championships in Hoch-Ybrig. She missed the following season completely due to the serious injury, having already had to retire prematurely in winter due to glandular fever.
But the talent became a fighter. She began to listen to her body, she alone knew what was good for her - and determined her place in the field accordingly. After tearing her cruciate ligament, for example, she extended her usual convalescence by more than two months because she hadn't felt ready to return to the slopes beforehand.
The new rethink
However, promotion to the circle of the best was still a long time coming, partly due to a change of supplier in the season before last. As the hoped-for results failed to materialize, Camille Rast returned from Salomon to Head after one winter.
The new rethink was to pay off. Last winter, Camille Rast came closer and closer to the top, and this winter she has finally reached the top. The next comparisons with Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova may come.
Suicidal thoughts? You can find help here:
- These services are available around the clock for people in suicidal crises and for those around them.
- Dargebotene Hand counseling hotline: Telephone number 143 or www.143.ch
- Pro Juventute counseling hotline (for children and young people): Telephone number 147 or www.147.ch
- Further addresses and information: www.reden-kann-retten.ch
- Addresses for people who have lost someone to suicide:
Refugium: Association for bereaved people after suicide
Sea of fog: Perspectives after the suicide of a parent
