Injured Olympic ski champion Vlhova splits with coach

Reigning Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova has parted ways with Italian coach Mauro Pini as her recovery from a knee injury drags on, her team said on Monday.

The 29-year-old Slovak has been sidelined since tearing a knee ligament during a World Cup giant slalom in January 2024.

"We have mutually agreed with our head coach, Mauro Pini, to part ways... allowing him to continue his successful coaching career without limitations," the team said in a statement.

Pini, who led Vlhova to the Olympic slalom gold at Beijing 2022, called on her to "never give up".

"It is crucial that she is given all the time necessary to fully recover, with the appropriate treatments, without any external pressure," he said.

The team said that Vlhova's recovery has been hampered by a cartilage problem and "some wrong decisions" that led to further surgery on her knee.

This "unfortunately sets Petra's recovery and dream of returning to competitive skiing almost back to the beginning of this challenging journey".

Vlhova, who has six medals from world championships including a giant slalom title from Are 2019, previously said that she was hoping to make it back for her Olympic title defence at the Milan-Cortina Games in 2026.