Two skiing friends go their separate ways.

Painful farewell: Best skiing friends are separated

Ending a career in the ski circus is always an emotional thing. Especially when other skiers suffer almost more than the retired athlete herself.

March 26, 2024

From: det

It was a report that really surprised the ski world. Ragnhild Mowinckel announced her retirement at the end of February at the end of the season. The 31-year-old Norwegian was still among the world's best this year and won a World Cup downhill for the first time in Cortina d'Ampezzo. However, Mowinckel did it according to the motto: Stop when it's best.

And that particularly saddened one skier, namely her teammate Kajsa Vickhoff Lie. The two recently held the Norwegian flag high in the speed disciplines alone and together caused a huge sensation. The fact that the two have long been really close friends can now be clearly seen in Vickhoff Lie's Instagram posting. The 25-year-old said goodbye to her 31-year-old mentor with emotional words.

“How am I supposed to catch the right flight now?” Kajsa Vickhoff Lie

“Where should I begin?” writes Vickhoff Lie. “Without you and your openness in 2017, my World Cup journey would not have even begun. Since then, you have let me learn from your mistakes and mine, explored my limits in a pleasant way, and asked me the right and difficult questions.”

After the final there was a warm hug between Vickhoff Lie (left) and Mowinckel. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

As Vickhoff Lie writes, Mowinckel was like a kind of mother to her. “I am so incredibly proud of how we were able to manage our small, large team. And I've never had as much fun traveling as I did with you. Without you as my teammate, I don't even want to think about how to catch the right flight, how to get to the right hotel, how to know what tomorrow's program will look like, and how to inspect the course. So if you don’t know what to do, you can still be my professional roommate.”

Check out this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (@kajsalie)

Finally, there was also a nice tribute to Mowinckel. “The shoes to fill are very big, but the future of the Norwegian women's team has never looked more promising than after everything you have taught us. I love you.” This is what true ski love should look like.