By Simon Evans and Simon Jennings
YANQING, China (Reuters) – Olympic slalom gold medallist Petra Vlhova said her decision to hire coach Mauro Pini had been the best move of her career, hailing the Swiss expert for making the sport fun for her again.
The Slovak rallied from eighth place after the first run to win her country’s first Alpine Skiing gold medal with victory in Wednesday’s slalom at the Ice River.
Vlhova had taken on Pini, previously coach of Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami and Slovenian Tina Maze, last May and was quick to credit him for her consistent form.
“It was the best season I ever did in my life. Mauro gave me something huge because he gave me a smile, he gave me passion again to ski,” she said after pipping Austrian Katharina Liensberger to gold.
“Right now every single day, even if I am tired, I am happy to be back on the snow, to ski and to enjoy laughing a lot in the team,” she added.
“I understood for me it’s really important to be calm, to smile, to enjoy the life. After all, in a few years I finish and then everything is done.
“He gave me this, that every single day and every single minute you have to just enjoy the big smile, and just to have fun. This was missing in the last few years,” she added.
A proud Pini said he had urged Vlhova to leave everything on the snow in her second run after she trailed first-leg leader Lena Duerr by 0.72 seconds.
“I told her that she had nothing to lose, that she had to be courageous, that I wanted to see a determined girl on that course with loads of heart and she did it, incredible,” the coach told reporters.
“The pressure was there and it is a factor but we have always said that she had to use that to push herself and give her energy and it happened right at the end.
“I’m very, very, very happy and we will be tonight, tomorrow and for the next year,” he added.
Vlhova, who has battled hard with American Mikaela Shiffrin in the World Cup over the past few season, won gold on the day when her rival skied out seconds into the opening run.
The 26-year-old is the defending overall World Cup champion and current World Cup slalom leader but this was her first Olympic medal after she failed to make the podium in her two previous Games.
“In sport you have to never give up, fight until the end. I am here, and I won Olympic Games,” she said.
“For me, for my country, for my family, for my team, this is something huge. We are really happy and proud.”
(Reporting by Simon Evans, Editing by Ed Osmond)
