Petra Vlhova is planning her comeback in the Ski World Cup. © Petra Vlhova

New coach: Vlhova wants to reach the top after a period of suffering

Petra Vlhova is working on her comeback in the World Cup. An Austrian coach will be assisting her.

23 May 2026

From: never

She celebrated her grand comeback at the Olympic Games, but a similar return to the World Cup has eluded her so far: Since her serious crash in the Jasna giant slalom in January 2024, in which she tore her anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in her right knee, the Slovakian skier has not competed in a single World Cup race. Persistent knee problems and another operation delayed her comeback, but four months ago she finally made a bombshell announcement. She would be competing at the Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo – and only at those.

Vlhova was eliminated in the team combined, but in the slalom, despite a lack of competitive experience, she fought her way to a respectable 20th place. She then shifted her focus to her World Cup comeback – and announced a change in that direction. "Welcome to our team, Mario Rafetzeder," the overall World Cup champion of the 2020/21 season wrote on Instagram. "I'm happy to be able to rebuild my team and surround myself with people with whom I will fight to return to the World Cup."

Vlhova wants to compete at the top again.

The hunger for success of the 2022 Olympic slalom champion is far from satisfied; Vlhova knows only one goal: the top of the skiing elite. She has high hopes for her new coach. "I'm looking forward to working with everyone on my team and I'm convinced that Mario is the right leader who will enable us to fully compete with the best skiers in the world," Vlhova emphasized.

Rafetzeder brings plenty of experience: Most recently, the 47-year-old was head coach of the Finnish men's ski team, and between 2014 and 2016 he also coached the Swiss ski cross team.