Slovak skier Petra On her return to the competitive slopes after a two-year break, Vlhová did not complete the team combination for the 2026 Olympics. In the slalom part, she started first in the order, but dropped out about halfway down the course. Vlhová presented herself together with Katarína Šrobová.
“I felt good, my knee was also fine. If it wasn’t fine, I wouldn’t be here. I’m looking forward to the next race,” the Olympic slalom winner from Beijing 2022, the 2019 world champion in the giant slalom and the overall winner of the World Cup in the 2020/21 season said for STVR.
“It was tense at times with Katka, but I’m glad she finally reached the finish line. In the end, I messed it up. I spoke with Katka yesterday, I supported her and told her not to stress when there is such chaos around me. That no matter what happens, she won’t worry about me. I am glad that she allowed me to start and that I could try it. I always try to do my best, I want to ski the best I can, but you have to be honest with yourself. Two years without being in racing mode – that’s a very long time. I went here to come back and have that pre-start feeling again. Despite the elimination, I am very grateful that I could be at the start and give at least some kind of performance. I still have a lot of work ahead of me,” added.
Vlhová took to the competitive slope for the first time since falling in the giant slalom in Jasná on January 20, 2024, during which she seriously injured her knee. The 30-year-old skier already confirmed at the end of January that after a two-year break, she received the green light from the doctors for full skiing. She expressed her desire to compete at the 2026 Olympics, but everything depended on whether she would have time to prepare before the start of the Olympic race.
She definitely confirmed that she will start at the Olympics on Saturday evening. In the team competition, she primarily wanted to try the slope of Tofan, where eight days later she will also start in the classic slalom. In it, four years ago, she won gold at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, but after a long break, she does not set performance goals and does not talk about defense.
