Shock for Lara Gut-Behrami shortly before the start of the season in Sölden: The skier from Ticino has to forfeit the giant slalom after inspecting the piste. She explains the decision in tears on SRF.
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- Lara Gut-Behrami has to give up shortly before the start of the season in Sölden.
- Although her knee is healthy, the risk is still too high, the Swiss skier explains in an emotional interview.
- Gut-Behrami had already played down her knee problems three weeks ago.
- Since then, however, she has lost even more muscle mass due to illness.
"I'm still not 100 percent fit. You can't go to the start and risk something like that," explained Lara Gut-Behrami in an emotional interview on "SRF" shortly after viewing the piste in Sölden. "I was hoping that I could make it to the end. I would love to ski, but I can't afford to take any risks."
There was a lack of confidence and it didn't feel 100 percent right. "The knee is actually healthy," says the Swiss rider, who is visibly saddened by the decision. But she can't really ignore it and that's why the risk is far too great. "It's incredibly difficult for me to give up this race, but that's the way it is," Gut-Behrami adds with tears in her eyes.
As reported by "Blick", she also spoke to FIS media representatives in Sölden and said: "I don't want an injury to decide my career. I want to decide for myself when it's done. I don't think it's today."
How serious is the knee injury?
The problem with her knee started at the training camp in Chile. She suffered a blow to her left knee there in September and had to change her training as a result.
"I had everything checked out after my return - and the knee is okay," Gut-Behrami says casually at a media conference three weeks ago. The skier from Ticino plays down the problem - now it is clear in Sölden that she is not yet ready to give 100 percent.
The Ticino native's preparation for the season didn't go according to plan anyway: "The last month was pretty challenging, and not just because of my knee: I was still ill, so I couldn't do anything for almost three weeks. I lost quite a lot of muscle mass," Gut-Behrami tells blue Sport.
And the mental aspect of the sport is also becoming increasingly difficult for the 33-year-old: "You can't ski 90 percent and hope that you'll be fine. You always need 100 percent determination. It consumes a lot of energy. I also notice that it's slowly eating away at me. I like racing, I like skiing, but at some point the mental strain becomes too much."
However, Gut-Behrami recently denied any thoughts of retiring. Before the start of the season, the Ticino native even ventured a look into the more distant future. "We are looking to plan until 2026. If I'm fit, why not?"
Whether anything has changed now remains to be seen. However, a quick fix after the forfeit in Sölden seems highly unlikely. Gut-Behrami confirmed on SRF on Saturday that she wants to attack again in Killington.
