Breaking News: Lara Gut-Behrami Announces Immediate Retirement From Alpine Skiing

Swiss alpine skiing icon Lara Gut-Behrami has officially announced her retirement from professional skiing, bringing her career to an unexpected close. But how did it come to this emotional farewell?

(Image credit to Stefan Brendig)

The Injury That Changed It All

Gut-Behrami’s injury came just months before what was expected to be her last World Cup season for her career. The 35 year old confirmed early on that she will not return to compete in the following season due to the severe knee injury that she sustained during a training session back in November of 2025. While Lara had originally hoped to finish her career at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, she explained that her recovery hasn’t been as smooth as she hoped for and won’t be able to compete at the level that she wanted to. 

“I always wanted to leave the sport on my own terms”, she explained in her retirement announcement. “Unfortunately, my body has made that decision for me”

A Career Full of Achievements

Lara Gut-Behrami leaves the sport as one of the most talented female Swiss skiers in history. Over nearly two decades in the World Cup, she established herself as an immensely versatile racer, showing her full potential in the categories Super-G, downhill and giant slalom. The skier from Ticino is leaving a legacy behind in this sport. During her career, she claimed two overall World Cup titles, Olympic gold in the Super-G at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, two World Championship gold medals and 48 World Cup victories, making her one of Switzerland’s greatest alpine skiers of all time. 

The Emotional Farewell

In announcing her retirement, Gut-Behrami thanked her family, coaches, teammates, sponsors and supporters who accompanied her throughout her journey in the sport. Despite suffering several major injuries throughout her career, she continued to fight her way back to the top over and over again. In her post, she reflected on the incredible experiences and life lessons that skiing had given her, from standing on Olympic podiums to competing in front of thousands of fans around the world, expressing her gratitude for everything the sport has given her.

Although her competitive career is ending unexpectedly sooner, she has definitely set her mark in the world of Swiss skiing, especially for all the women out there.

Article written by Sania Zimmermann © Sania Zimmermann 2026