It crackles tremendously behind the scenes of the Austrian women’s ski team. Stephanie Venier is now considering drastic consequences and is thinking about a career end.
Stephanie Venier, reigning world champion in the Super-G, made critical statements about ÖSV women’s head coach Roland Assinger and his leadership style. The 31-year-old mainly criticizes the tone and the difficult to understand, which in her opinion are no longer up to date.
“It is about the way – if at all – communicating with us,” said Venier of the crown and added: “We are able to criticize, but it is always about how. I also speak for a few other girls. So much is slear. If you cannot have normal conversations, if that always happens from above, it is not the fine English way.”
Stephanie Venier won gold at the World Cup in Saalbach in the Super-G
“This is how you lose the joy of sport”
The resigned Tamara Tippler had already criticized Assinger. “It seemed as if I wasn’t wanted,” said the Speed specialist and emphasized that it was usually communicated from above. “A lot of what Tammi said is true. The guidelines that Roland Assinger specifies are often difficult to understand and no longer contemporary,” confirmed Venier.
Venier and many of her colleagues want communication at eye level for the future. “When it comes to the personal level, many girls ‘splash’, it is not the fine English way. Due to the discussions or the tone of dealing, it is often difficult to trust you.
“That will certainly also influence my decision – because this is how you lose the joy of sport,” said Venier, who had previously explained: “I can’t say whether it was or I will continue. I’m just in the finding phase.” She will “put on a good plan – regardless of whether for skiing or life: I have been needing my knees longer.”
Assinger reacts to criticism
Assinger is under contract with the Austrian Ski Association for another winter. Whether he can fulfill the working paper is questionable in view of the critical voices. The 51-year-old has now rejected the allegations on ORF . “It is a high-performance sport,” he said, especially in the speed disciplines you have to stay concentrated at any time. Rumbling with up to 140 kilometers per hour across the slopes is “no children’s birthday”.
The crown continued to report that the discrepancies were known to the association “for a long time”. “The well -being of our athletes, athletes and supervisors has a high priority for us – both in human interaction and in daily work at the top -class sport level,” says a statement by the ÖSV. The association now wants to win a “comprehensive picture” and “specifically develop structures”.