Medal hopes ride on snowboarders
If the Swiss win gold in an alpine event at the Winter Olympics, the chances are that the successful athlete will be riding a snowboard.
A glance at the current World Cup standings shows that Switzerland is home to the top four men and the first and third-placed women in the parallel slalom event.
Philipp Schoch, who took gold in the slalom in Salt Lake City four years ago, will be defending his title.
The Swiss also have the current leader in the women’s halfpipe rankings – Manuela Pesko – and both the men and women have an outside chance of a medal in snowboard cross.
Franco Giovanoli, head coach of the Swiss snowboard team, says he is confident that his charges will not be making the short trip home from Turin empty-handed. But, as with any one-off sporting event, he is not taking anything for granted.
“We have already won gold medals in the World Cup this year in all three disciplines, so we are really looking forward to getting a few more at the Olympic Games,” he told swissinfo. “But in the end it’s down to one race and many things can happen.”
Simon Schoch, one of the medal favourites for the parallel giant slalom, said the riders were on a high going into Turin after a successful season to date.
“Our preparations have been perfect and right now we’re feeling really confident.”
Minimum target
The Swiss have set themselves a minimum target of three medals and if that sounds a bit conservative, bearing in mind the country’s dominance of the slalom, it is worth remembering that events are run on a knock-out basis.
If the draw is unkind, the Swiss men – Simon Schoch, Philipp Schoch, Heinz Inniger and Gilles Jaquet – could find themselves up against each other en route to a place in the final.
The same goes for Daniela Meuli and Ursula Bruhin, currently ranked one and three in the world, in the women’s parallel giant slalom.
“A lot will depend on how the Swiss riders are seeded,” explained Giovanoli. “Theoretically, Daniela and Ursula could meet each other in the first round.”
The Swiss also nurture hopes of a medal in the halfpipe and snowboard cross, but Giovanoli warns that it will be tough.
Turin marks the first time this season that all the world’s top riders will be competing together, since not all of them take part in official World Cup races.
Secret of success
The coach puts the secret of the squad’s success down to “excellent team spirit” and the presence of so many world-class athletes under one roof.
“They are always fighting against each other on the course but off it they are one team. They really support and help each other to improve,” he said.
“We in Switzerland are fortunate to have a situation where the best snowboarders in the world are training together. This helps us to stay a step ahead of the other nations.”
This is a marked improvement on two years ago when there was friction in the Swiss camp over funding. Four riders even threatened to go off and race for another country if the situation wasn’t resolved.
Giovanoli says things are a lot better now, with the team receiving SFr1.3 million ($1 million) a season. But riders still have to dip into their pockets to cover expenses on tour and training costs.
“The alpine skiers get much more but it is also the case that they bring in most of the sponsorship money,” he said. “Snowboarding is still seen as a sideshow and we lack media exposure.”
A further boon for the Swiss boarders is that they have notched up success in the past on the Bardonecchia course where the races will be run – and one of the team’s trainers will be setting the course for men’s parallel giant slalom.
“Some of the other countries are not too happy about that,” chuckled Giovanoli.
swissinfo, Adam Beaumont
The Turin Winter Games run from 10-26 February.
All the snowboarding events take place in Bardonecchia.
The resort lies in Alta Val di Susa at an altitude of 1,312 metres
In Salt Lake City four years ago, Switzerland’s snowboarders won two medals. Philipp Schoch took gold in the men’s parallel giant slalom and Fabienne Reuteler won bronze in the women’s halfpipe.
Switzerland has four of the top ranked men in the parallel slalom event: Simon Schoch (1), Philipp Schoch (2), Heinz Inniger (3), Gilles Jaquet (4).
Two Swiss women feature in the top three for the same event: Daniela Meuli (1) and Ursula Bruhin (3).
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