Mud fight in alpine skiing: Athletes and coaches go at each other in public

Innsbruck (Austria) - The Austrian alpine skiing team could actually be in the sunshine. At the home World Championships in Schladming, the host nation cleaned up with two gold, three silver and one bronze. But after the end of the season, dark clouds gathered in the women's team.

There is ice age between Roland Assinger (51, l.) and Stephanie Venier (31, r.).
There is ice age between Roland Assinger (51, l.) and Stephanie Venier (31, r.).  © IMAGO / GEPA pictures

World champion Stephanie Venier (31) had publicly attacked head coach Roland Assinger (51). The coach did not want to take this lying down and has now fired back.

He told"ORF": "If someone wins a gold medal and then goes on to win a bronze medal in this flow, then not everything will have gone badly in the run-up, including the training methods, the training opportunities and the coaching team," he said in an interview.

His athlete had accused Assinger in the"Krone" that the guidelines he gave were "often difficult to understand and no longer up to date".

"It's about the way in which - if at all - we are communicated with. We are open to criticism, but it's always about the 'how'. When it gets personal and a lot of girls start shouting, that's not the English way," she fiercely attacked the coach.

A lack of self-confidence among the athletes would be due to the fact that it would be taken away by discussions and the tone of voice. Venier even publicly tied her future to that of her coach.

Alpine skiing: Head coach Roland Assinger wants to talk, some athletes no longer do

The world champion from Schladming is even making her sporting future dependent on whether Assinger stays or leaves.
The world champion from Schladming is even making her sporting future dependent on whether Assinger stays or leaves.  © Jens Büttner/dpa

If he stays, she might hang up her skis. Because under these circumstances, you would lose interest in the sport.

Roland Assinger still has a contract with the ÖSV until 2026, but sports director Mario Stecher (47) has taken care of the matter in the background. He told the "Standard" newspaper: "We need to find out whether it is still possible to work together, whether there is still mutual respect or whether there is no longer a connection. That would be a shame, of course, but then it would be time to take a new path," he explained tellingly.

It boils down to an internal power struggle, with an open outcome. "If there have been communication problems, I believe that this should be discussed on a factual level. I'm happy to be involved," said the coach on ORF.

According to Stecher, everything should be dealt with internally, but there has already been a rift in the women's team because some athletes are behind Assinger, others are not. It remains to be seen who sports director Stecher will back in the end.