The rivalry between the Swiss and the Austrians in alpine skiing is well-known, and the fans learn to enjoy their competition. As in the Austrian ski squad, in the Swiss team, the competition is tough, and new names emerge every year to challenge the safe spot of the established skiers in the top team.
However, in the Swiss skiing team, the atmosphere seems to be more supportive and friendlier, with both the press and the fans being more forgiving than their Austrian colleagues. However, the Swiss skiers have been making them happy over the last decade, so there was nothing to forgive. The Swiss are the elite in all alpine skiing competitions.
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The Swiss Ladies: An All-Round Venture
The Swiss female skiers seem to dominate every discipline, although injuries have been haunting their last years. The top-class skier Lara Gut-Behrami owns two overall crystal globes and six of the small ones, most being from super-G, where her smooth and courageous style makes her nearly unbeatable.
However, Gut-Behrami experienced two awful seasons after her knee injury in 2017 and started winning only three years later. Many believed her top skier’s career was over before she acquired her crystal globe in super-G in 2021. Lara missed the beginning of this season; however, we expect her to deliver excellent results when she returns to the slopes.
It is not just Lara who excels in downhill and super-G; more ladies on the Swiss skiing team love speed. Among them are Jasmine Suter, the World Championship downhill winner from 2023, and Corinne Suter, the Olympic downhill winner from Bejing.
Among the technicians, Wendy Holdener dominates, who is returning this year after an ankle fracture. Holdener is very universal, but the most prominent all-rounder among Swiss female skiers is Michelle Gisin. Gisin proved her expertise in alpine competitions by winning gold medals at two successive Olympic games.
The Swiss Male Skiers: Dominance on All Fronts
The Swiss have the unbeatable Marco Odermatt, who has won 3 overall World Cup titles so far and last year managed to land all crystal globes except the slalom, where he does not compete. However, the Swiss team is not just Odermatt.
In slalom, the veteran Daniel Yule still dominates the field. At the same time, the best all-rounder of the Swiss men, Loïc Meillard, skis well in slalom, giant slalom, and even super-G. Regarding giant slalom, Marco Odermatt’s best friends Justin Murisier and Gino Caviezel have been knocking on the door for a long time but remain in their colleague’s shadow. However, Thomas Tummler found his form only last year, at 35.
The Swiss speed team is very young compared to an average speed team, with Alexis Monney and Franjo Von Allmen younger than 23. Niels Hintermann and Stefan Rogentin seem veterans compared to their younger teammates. However, both still use their experience and can land a podium.
As the fans spend time waiting for the proper start of the season and expect the snow conditions to get better, the Swiss stars train. Some are in Levi, some are in America, and some, like Lara Gut-Behrami, are still struggling to return to competition. Indeed, this year, we can expect tough battles not only between the Swiss and the Austrians. Because the comebacks of Marcel Hirscher and Lucas Braathen, under the Dutch and Brazilian flag, have made the alpine skiing World Cup more international than ever before.
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