Issued on: 01\/02\/2022 - 05:44<\/p>\n
Bratislava (AFP) Before she became one of the world's top skiers, Petra Vlhova was a little girl with a speech impediment and a love for riding motorbikes growing up in the shadow of the Tatra mountains in Slovakia. <\/p>\n
Her father and manager, Igor Vlha, who ran a canteen at the Jasna resort where Vlhova made her first outings on the slopes, remembers that she learned skiing \"way before she could talk\".<\/p>\n
\"We were not crazy about skiing. She learned to ski on her own, under the supervision of her older brother Boris,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
She was just three years old at the time and the family lived near Liptovsky Mikulas, a picturesque town in northern Slovakia.<\/p>\n
Skiing was not her only passion -- she also liked climbing trees, building snow forts and playing football and ice hockey.<\/p>\n
She soon realised she would need to concentrate on skiing to improve.<\/p>\n
Her first coach, Jan Garaj, remembers her as \"spirited on the slope\".<\/p>\n
\"I remember her very first competition when she set off, quickly passed the first gate, then the second, and raced down fearlessly without making any turns.<\/p>\n
\"After crossing the finish line, she raised her arms and cried, lisping: 'I'm first!',\" Garaj told AFP.<\/p>\n
Since then, Vlhova has had a meteoric career and expectations are high for the Beijing Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n
In 2021, she won the World Cup overall title -- the first Slovak skier to do.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old specialises in technical events such as the slalom and giant slalom.<\/p>\n
She has six World Championships medals to her name but, so far, has drawn a blank at the Olympics despite taking part in both the 2014 and 2018 Games.<\/p>\n
As she was growing up, Garaj always carried a screwdriver in his ski boots to tighten a loose ski binding now and then. It was how Petra and her first coach established a ritual.<\/p>\n
\"Before her races, we took turns throwing the screwdriver into the snow with the handle end up. She loved the ritual, and stuck to it for years,\" Garaj said.<\/p>\n
From the age of 10 to 15, she trained in the northern city of Martin, coached by Rastislav Mazgut, who called her \"open and straightforward.\"<\/p>\n
\"If she did not like something during training, she would immediately confront me with it. She only cared about becoming the best,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Mazgut revealed that as a teenager, Petra hated running but understood that it was necessary to stay in shape.<\/p>\n
When it came to ski practice, however, she never complained.<\/p>\n
\"While many youngsters were pushed into skiing by their parents, Petra loved to ski and was keen on learning more,\" Mazgut said.<\/p>\n
Petra grew up close to her brother Boris and his friends, their summers filled with endless shenanigans and their winters spent skiing.<\/p>\n
\"We had a great childhood, we always got along well. We would play soccer or ride motorbikes together,\" Boris told AFP.<\/p>\n
\"I still look after her,\" he added, saying he deals with her finances and also serves as a driver and cook for the team.<\/p>\n
Petra always has the same thing for breakfast, he said -- rolled oats, fruit, plain yogurt with peanut butter -- while she enjoys pasta for lunch and the occasional steak for dinner.<\/p>\n
She is an avid motorbike fan and still finds the time to ride her off-road racing bike through the woods in the off-season. <\/p>\n
Her brother is always close at hand when she is competing. <\/p>\n
\"In the seconds before setting off, she is concentrated 100 percent,\" he said. <\/p>\n
\"It's hard to describe but it's like she's in a trance. She can ski the track blindfolded.\"<\/p>\n
2022 AFP<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Read the rest here:<\/p>\n
'Spirited on the slope': The downhill rise of Petra Vlhova - FRANCE 24<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Issued on: 01\/02\/2022 - 05:44 Bratislava (AFP) Before she became one of the world's top skiers, Petra Vlhova was a little girl with a speech impediment and a love for riding motorbikes growing up in the shadow of the Tatra mountains in Slovakia. Her father and manager, Igor Vlha, who ran a canteen at the Jasna resort where Vlhova made her first outings on the slopes, remembers that she learned skiing \"way before she could talk\" Continue reading