Swiss ski great Lara Gut-Behrami retires after Olympic gold and world titles

Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Lara Gut-Behrami announced her retirement from alpine skiing on Thursday.

The speed specialist from Switzerland won the Olympic super-G gold medal in the 2022 Beijing Games among three career Olympic medals, and the 2021 world titles in super-G and giant slalom.

Her 48 World Cup wins, 24 in super-G, are the fifth most all-time for women. She was the overall World Cup champion in 2016 and 2024.

"I have been fortunate and honored to enjoy such a long career, to express my dreams and ambitions through skiing, and to experience this journey alongside extraordinary people," Gut-Behrami said in statement.

The 35-year-old was planning to retire at the end of last season in March but could not compete due to a severe knee injury from crashing in training at Copper Mountain, Colo., in November. She ruptured ligaments in her left knee and damaged the meniscus.

The Milan-Cortina Olympics was due to be her fourth Winter Games, with skiing on the Cortina d'Ampezzo course where she took the two world golds in 2021, along with a bronze in downhill.

"I consider that a knee injury, as complex as it is, cannot be considered a tragedy," Gut-Behrami said then in a statement that noted recent deaths of young skiers who crashed in training.

"After almost 20 years in elite sport, and despite the crashes and injuries I have experienced, I am fortunate not to suffer from recurring pain, and I want to keep it that way," she said about her retirement.

Gut-Behrami skis to Olympic women's super-G gold in 2022

Gut-Behrami wins women's super-G at 2021 world championships

"This is another reason why I feel the right time has come: The moment when I no longer need to push myself to reach and