Big players on the move

Major shifts are taking place in the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) at the end of an Olympic period and at the start of a new one. Several coaches in key positions have announced that they are leaving the federation after the 2022 season. At the same time, five months into her job as the ÖSV president, former Austrian slalom skier Roswitha Stadlober is leading reorganizing-work of this major ski federation. The president hopes to ramp things up for the 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships on home snow for the Austrians in Saalbach. 

As big coaching profiles are saying “auf Wiedersehn” to the ÖSV, they are expected to aim towards other teams. Patrick Riml, the head of the High-Performance Alpine Sports department at the ÖSV from 2019 has let the Austrian team know he is no longer available. He is said to have been offered a head coach position in the ÖSV but has turned it down, according to our friend at SkiNews. From 2011-18, Riml served as the U.S. Alpine Director — a job that is now also vacant. He previously worked for the Canadian ski association (2008-11) and with the USST women’s teams (2001-08).

Christian Mitter, the head coach for the ÖSV alpine women since 2019, announced his departure in early March. He later told Austrian media that there are talks going on, without anything concrete at that point, and that he wants to work with motivated athletes that want to achieve something. Mitter was reluctant to say why he no longer wants to do so in Austria, according to Kronen Zeitung, but he said that there are many reasons for such a decision. Previously, Mitter has worked for the Norwegian Ski Federation for years, including many successes as the Norwegian men’s head coach from 2015. Before his transfer from Norway to the ÖSV, members of the Norwegian medical staff criticized Mitter’s leadership style in a letter to the Norwegian ski federation and threatened to leave their positions unless there were changes. Mitter decided to move on to the ÖSV at that point, but said at the time that the critique was not the main reason for the change. 

Andreas Puelacher, the head coach for ÖSV alpine men since 2014, announced his departure only days after Mitter. Puelacher said during his online press conference that he was proud to leave behind a compact team that is in good shape, according to Kronen Zeitung. At the point of his announcement, it was not clear whether Puelacher would go into another position with the ÖSV. Because he likes to work with the athletes, he could not picture himself in an administrative position.

Marko Pfeifer takes over after Puelacher, as officially announced during the World Cup Finals in Courchevel. He plans to spend the next few days and weeks talking to coaches and racers, before taking the next steps, according to a news release from the ÖSV. Pfeifer has coached the Austrian slalom skiers since 2013 with great success. Before that, he headed the Swedish national men’s team (2010-13).

The announcements from Mitter and Puelacher about choosing to resign from their ÖSV head coach positions came only days after the ÖSV announced the hiring of Austrian Herbert Mandl in a new sports director position.

The ÖSV stated in early March that experienced coach Herbert Mandl was hired as the sports director and will assume responsibility for the entire ÖSV alpine area. Mandl, who will officially start in this new position on May 1, is a well-known name after a previous period of 28 years with the ÖSV, including as the head coach for the Austrian women (2002-13). Prior to that, he also led the Norwegian national team for five years as head coach. Mandl will focus on finding the necessary structures for successful development in the area of alpine skiing and thereby create the necessary conditions for a successful future, according to an ÖSV news release. Mandl is very pleased with the hiring of Pfeifer as the new men’s head coach, according to the ÖSV.

Looking towards the Ski World Championships in Saalbach in 2025, ÖSV President Stadlober is delighted that the ÖSV has recruited an experienced man like Mandl to this important position. “As a proven alpine expert over many years who has worked successfully at all developmental stages, he will provide new impulses,” she says in the same ÖSV news release regarding the hiring of Mandl.

Central European and Scandinavian shuffles

Stefan Abplanalp, the coach for the past three years of Slovenian two-time downhill World Champion Ilka Stuhec’s private team, will not extend his contract after this season, according to SkiNews. At the moment it is not announced where he will go from here, Abplanalp is open for new opportunities. The Swiss native has previously worked with several speed-greats such as USA’s Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso, Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel and Switzerland’s Dominique Gisin.

Another Swiss coaching personality, Martin Rufener, a former successful Swiss Ski coach and also past sports director/head coach for the Canadian ski federation, wishes to return to the ski racing world. He has announced that he would like to start working again in international skiing, either on the hill or in the administration, after deciding to end his work as the CEO for the Gstaad Airport AG.

Changes are also taking place in Scandinavia. Christian Thoma, who has worked for the Swedish ski federation since 2012 and as the head coach for the Swedish women’s national team since 2020, has decided to move on to a new chapter in life after the success of Sara Hector’s Olympic gold medal in Beijing, according to SportNews. Previous successes also include the 2018 Olympic gold medal for Frida Hansdotter. Thoma previously also worked with the Finnish and Italian national teams. In addition, Swedish speed coach Kurt Mayr will not extend his contract. Mayr has previously worked with Austrian and Canadian teams.

In Finland, Swiss coach Osi Inglin resigns as head coach of the Finnish national team, a position he has held for two years and which was planned to last from 2020 and through the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Inglin has previously been the head coach of various Swiss Ski groups and for the Davos Ski Sports School, and he also coached Ski & Snowboard Club Vail in the past.

North-American Changes

As previously reported, Jesse Hunt resigned as the US Ski & Snowboard Alpine Director in February after the Beijing Olympics, but offered to stay in the position until July 1 to ensure a smooth transition. Hunt has held the position since 2018, and he also worked for the USST for 16 years up until 2009.

In Canada, Manuel Gamper leaves the Canadian women’s team after the 2022 season after six years as head coach. Gamper worked as head coach for the Canadian women until April 2021, when he was surprisingly dismissed. However, after his athletes protested the dismissal through a letter to the board of Alpine Canada, he was taken back in by the Canadian Ski Association and worked with focus on the team’s athletes through the Beijing Olympics, according to SportNews. Now Gamper wishes to look forward and is open to a new, stable project, as the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina in his native Italy lie ahead. Gamper has previously also worked in the USA (2005-08), Norway (2008-09) and Switzerland (2009-16).

Follow for more news, as the next days and weeks should add pieces in place in the international ski racing coaches’ puzzle.

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