Swiss skiing superstar Lara Gut-Behrami (pictured centre) has announced that the upcoming 25-26 ski season, the highlight of which will be the Winter Olympics in Italy, will be her last as a professional alpine ski racer.
Gut-Behrami is one of the most successful ski racers of all time, with 48 World Cup wins and 100 podiums, as well as Alpine Ski World Championships wins in the Super-G and Giant Slalom. She took the World Cup overall titles in 2015-16 and 2023-24 and has also won a record six Super-G globes.
She joined the World Cup tour in the 2007-8 season and first podiumed in a downhill at St Moritz at the age of 16 on 2nd February 2008, coming third despite falling close to the end and crossing the line on her back. She also took her first win at St Moritz later that year, taking the Super G in December, now aged 17, at the start of the 2008-9 season.
Now aged 34, Gut-Behrami, is the first woman with at least ten World Cup victories in three different disciplines.
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics next February will be Gut-Behrami’s fourth, she hass three Olympic medals and took super-G gold at the last Games in Beijing in 2022.
Swiss media reports that after retirement Gut-Behrami plans to move to England with her husband, former Swiss international football player Valon, who will be the technical director at his former soccer club, Watford.
Image credit Red Bull.
