Urs Lehmann from Switzerland has been President of the Swiss Ski Association for 14 years and is one of the most experienced officials there is. He is extremely critical of the developments in the international ski association FIS. He also gave his Austrian colleagues a clear side blow.
Multi-billionaire Johan Eliasch has turned alpine skiing upside down since he became FIS leader. Last May he was confirmed in office at the Congress of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation in Milan, although no dissenting votes were possible. The associations from Germany, Switzerland, Croatia and Austria therefore lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice (CAS).
“We are actually in front of quite a shambles,” says the head of the Swiss association, Urs Lehmann, on the cause before the hearing before the CAS on December 5th in an interview with the “View“. Why the 53-year-old is taking action against the FIS boss is obvious: “Eliasch has pushed ahead in many areas and has offended many people. It doesn’t work that way.” Since then, the FIS has been “a divided major construction site”.
The World Cup calendar is a particular thorn in the side: “The whole entourage is now flying overseas for the races in Lake Louise and Beaver Creek. And again to Aspen in March nonsense.”
“Kingmaker” Schröcks Nadel “should spoon out the soup”
Lehmann had previously lost the election for FIS President against Eliasch. Even if the election were canceled, a renewed candidacy for the Swiss was “currently absolutely not an issue”. “I’ve shifted my priorities to other areas now. You can’t jump back and forth.”
The fact that Urs Lehmann came out as the loser in the election was due, among other things, to the Austrian functionary Peter Schröcksnadel, who had supported the entrepreneur Johan Eliasch. “He was the kingmaker back then and he’s supposed to spoon up this soup now,” the Swiss ski boss said afterwards, throwing a swipe at the 81-year-old Schröcksnadel.
The Austrian then apologized to Lehmann and, according to the Swiss, should run against Eliasch in a new election. “Schröcks Nadel knows winter sports like no other”, Lehmann explained, regardless of the old age of the FIS Vice President.