Vlhova gives deep insights: “Thought about resigning”

Petra Vlhova is one of the most successful skiers of recent years. However, the way up proved to be extremely difficult for the Slovakian. In contrast to athletes from larger associations, the 27-year-old had to create her own financial sources.

This meant that Vlhova was not only exposed to the pressure of her competitors in the fight for every thousandth of a second. In fact, it also had to withstand a lot of stress off the piste. “I often cried when things didn’t go well.” Peter Vlhova “I didn’t always succeed,” she revealed in an interview with Schweizer View . “I often cried when things didn't go well.” But Vlhova didn't let her dreams stop her and stuck to her wishes. “At some point I realized: the best thing to do is to create a bubble around myself. Only the people on my team are important, I only listen to them. If I opened this bubble and let the outside pressure in, it wouldn’t work.”

Beijing as a golden highlight The 26-time World Cup winner demonstrated how she can deal with adverse situations at the Winter Olympics in Beijing last February. After the first slalom run, she was the favorite in a disappointing eighth place. Only thanks to a fabulous performance did Vlhova keep her big dream alive in the decision - and raced to gold. In Beijing, Vlhova won the gold medal © Leo Holzknecht / Pentaphoto

“After the first run I had the hardest time of my life and after the second run the best time of my life,” she looked back proudly on her achievement. “It was the biggest goal of my career. Then I achieved it. It was like something out of a movie, just unbelievable.”

Vlhova thought about ending her career But Vlhova also associates the triumph in Beijing with a dark side. “After the gold medal in Beijing, I fell into a mental hole, I was completely empty,” she gave a deep insight. The 2019 world champion even thought about retiring. “After all, I achieved everything I dreamed of as a child.”

Now she's passionate about skiing again and has decided on a different approach. “I'm not 20 anymore, my body is different. I know what it takes to be fast. At the same time, I need more breaks than before.”

Nevertheless, Vlhova remains uncertain about her future. “At the same time, I learned not to look too far ahead. The 2026 Olympics are now in the back of my mind – we’ll see what comes after that.”

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Vlhova gives deep insights: “Thought about resigning”

As overall World Cup winner, world champion and Olympic champion, Petra Vlhova has conquered everything on the big stage of the ski circus. As she has now revealed, the slalom queen was temporarily thinking about retiring.

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