“Best season of modern times”: Ski World Cup in Swiss hands

The Alpine Ski World Cup was once again firmly in Swiss hands in 2023/24. It's not just the successes of Marco Odermatt and Lara Gut-Behrami that are ensuring the Swiss' unprecedented dominance.

March 25, 2024

From: apa/fop

Thanks to the overall World Cup winners Marco Odermatt and Lara Gut-Behrami, seven of the ten individual crystal balls and the Nations Cup went to Switzerland. Urs Lehmann, head of Swiss Ski, spoke of “by far the best season of modern times”, but called for humility in the hour of success.

“In sport, everyone knows: the clocks are always reset to zero. Enjoy the moment, celebrate properly, then we have to immediately work on keeping this beautiful position at the top,” said Lehmann. The necessary interaction at all levels has been working splendidly for some time. “From my point of view, we currently have a dream line-up in the association.”

Austria is lagging behind

For the first time since 1987/88 and Michaela Figini and Pirmin Zurbriggen there was a Swiss double in the overall World Cup. In 2020, Switzerland replaced main rival Austria as number one in the Nations Cup. Since then, the Swiss have always been ahead, with the exception of 2022. Also this year, with a clear lead of 1.595 points. 27 victories by seven different athletes were celebrated. Austria's yield reads comparatively measly (11).

“We still hope that it lasts until 2027” Urs Lehmann about Lara Gut-Behrami

On the men's side around Odermatt, the upheaval was successfully managed. Emerging talents like Franjo von Allmen reach the podium for the first time. For the women's division, the generational change is just beginning. After her jubilee year with three balls and eight wins, Gut-Behrami couldn't get a commitment to more than one more season. The overall World Cup winner will be 33 years old in the coming World Cup winter.

Lara Gut-Behrami and Marco Odermatt © ANSA / Guillaume Horcajuelo

“Of course we still hope that it lasts until 2027,” said Lehmann, referring to the home World Cup in Crans-Montana. You just need “distance to realize and process what you have achieved,” said Gut-Behrami. Even the other established players Joana Hählen, Wendy Holdener, Michelle Gisin and Jasmine Flury will certainly not all experience the peak at home as active participants, as some may retire after the 2026 Olympics in Cortina and Milan.

The next generation is already waiting

“It is important that you don’t forget the young talent, the stars of tomorrow, during the successful times,” warned Lehmann. But he also reassured. “It's our turn, and not just since today. Don't be mad if I don't tell you exactly what we're up to. But otherwise the others copy it,” said Lehmann with a mischievous smile. “We are very well positioned, Switzerland won nine medals (four gold, note) at the Junior World Championships in France.” Austria won precious metal six times with one gold from Victoria Olivier in the downhill.

Franjo von Allmen is one of the young wild ones in the Swiss squad. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

That Cornelia Hütter lost the ball in the Gut-Behrami downhill showdown, is of course extremely unfortunate from a Swiss perspective, said Lehmann, who once failed in the election for the FIS presidency to Johan Eliasch. But sport thrives on moments like this. “That’s also what sport teaches us. That you always have to be humble, you always have to fight until the last moment and that that can always change until the last second.”