Sporer put her career at risk: ‘I got a gun to my chest’

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The cry of joy from Marie-Thérèse Sporer (27) during the night slalom in Flachau on Tuesday is more than relief at a good result. What lies behind it is rather a story of suffering in which performance pressure, fear for the future and a lack of confidence have built up in a chaos of emotions. “I got the gun pressed to my chest before the race,” says Sporer after her 18th place. Before that it was said: either she gets World Cup points, or it was her last race and there are younger people who are moving forward. Now the technician has pulled her head out of the noose – again.

The Austrian has been competing at the highest level in giant slalom and slalom since 2018. Since then, she has not achieved more than one top 15 result. Instead, Sporer was regularly eliminated. Last year, criticism grew within the association (ÖSV) about their performance and the lack of World Cup points. For this season she was excluded from the national team. Her career was about to end.

A personal best result is not enough

But she steeled herself. And after beating her teammates in the internal qualifying, she took part in the season opener in Levi. Sporer was eliminated in the first slalom, but a day later she made an exclamation point with a 13th place finish.

Despite this, she is still denied a place in the selection. But that does not mean that she enjoys fewer privileges: “I am accepted by the ÖSV, just like my father as a soldier, I can live in the team hotel and participate in everything. My costs are covered, I pay my father’s costs myself. Of course, that also creates a lot of pressure, both financially and mentally,” says Sporer.

In the weeks after Levi, she again fell into a downward spiral. Nothing worked anymore. What follows is the test of strength in Flachau. “It was about continuing your career or ending your career and you get a little dizzy because you don’t know which way is up and which way is down,” Sporer says.

Clear words to the association

Looking back, she criticizes the behavior of the ÖSV at the time: “I hope the coaches don’t point the gun at me again, because that’s really bad. You fight for survival almost every day.”

Of course, she also understands some of the decisions of the coaching team, especially head coach Roland Assinger: “He always gave me the chance and I knew that something was going to happen now, because I often didn’t qualify.” Now Sporer has taken her last chance. Her career will continue next weekend in Jasna. (Gentlemen)

Source : Blick