Lara Gut-Behrami is probably having the best season of her career. The Swiss is currently leading the overall World Cup. The 32-year-old doesn’t just benefit from the competition’s failures.
She is the dominator of the winter: Lara Gut-Behrami is currently performing like no other ski racer. In a season in which top stars like Mikaela Shiffrin, Sofia Goggia and Corinne Suter are struggling with injuries, the Swiss woman shows no weakness and rushes from victory to victory in the World Cup.
Your workload is immense. In addition to downhill and super-G, the Olympic champion also competes in the giant slalom. The 32-year-old is currently at the top in all three competitions. She also leads the overall World Cup.
Reach the goal with experience
Gut-Behrami benefits from her experience. So far she seems to have been able to control the immense stress ideally. Maybe also because she has learned from her serious injuries in the past and knows what risks she can take in order to still cross the finish line safely. But it wasn’t always like this: hip injury, cruciate ligament tear, meniscus damage – she has a series of serious injuries behind her.
But it wasn’t just physical problems that Gut-Behrami had to deal with in the past. The great media attention also bothered her. At the age of 16 she stood on a World Cup podium for the first time. From then on, the expectations in her homeland were huge. She wasn’t always able to fulfill these requirements. Gut-Behrami’s carefree attitude disappeared, she took on the media and had a difficult time in her homeland.
Double world champion and Olympic champion
But at least since the World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Gut-Behrami has been back. She was crowned world champion there twice (super-G and giant slalom). Just a year later she became Olympic champion in the Super-G.
Gut-Behrami has been married to the Swiss footballer Valon Behrami since 2018. Otherwise, the ski star’s private life takes place outside of the public eye. The speed specialist also doesn’t have an Instagram profile. Her interview last Saturday after her third place in the downhill race in Crans Montana was all the more surprising. In the SRF interview she talked about her mental and physical problems: “Today was difficult. I had to vomit briefly before the start because I’m so tired. That’s never happened to me before.”
Gut-Behrami: “Sometime and somewhere it has to come out”
Gut-Behrami has already completed 22 races this season, winning seven times and being in the top three 13 times. It’s hardly surprising that this strong performance also has a physical impact. “You have to make an effort in your head, it’s also physically exhausting. At some point and somewhere it has to come out,” continued Gut-Behrami.
There are still eight races left on the World Cup calendar for this season. Gut-Behrami’s direct competitor for the overall World Cup is Mikaela Shiffrin. However, after her injury, the American will not start again at the World Cup in Are until the beginning of March. By then, Gut-Behrami may have made winning the big crystal ball all but certain. After 2016, it would be the second overall victory for the Swiss. And the reward for their incredible performance this winter.