Vreni Schneider talks about her mother’s early death from cancer

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cgWkHT”>

Sunday is Mother’s Day. Then we thank our moms for everything they do for us.

Vreni Schneider (58) is someone who can no longer hold her mother in her arms that day. The most successful Swiss skier (55 World Cup wins, eleven World Championship and Olympic medals and three overall World Cup wins) was only 16 years old when her mother Sibilla died of cancer at the age of 50. “They say time heals all wounds,” Schneider told the “Schweizer Illustrierte”. “But it takes a long time to process this incredible loss. It is now 42 years since my mother passed away. But the scars remain forever.”

Encouraged to pursue a skiing career

Her mother did not experience all of her successes on the ski slopes. Still, she played a big role in it. A few weeks before her death, she encouraged her daughter to go skiing. “That’s probably why I fought even more, was thankful for everything, and took nothing for granted. And became what I became,” says Schneider.

Over the years she often missed her mother. Schneider always had her in mind at the ski races. “When I was at the start I looked at the horizon and thought about her,” she reveals. At the same time, she kept wondering why her mother wasn’t allowed to experience all this.

Always believed in miracles

After an FIS race in Italy, she saw the sea for the first time. An experience she was eager to share with her mother, who was already seriously ill. “She just said, ‘Meitli, please tell me about it later. I don’t have the strength to listen,'” says Schneider. That’s when she realized how bad it was for her. I that she would recover.”

The miracle did not happen. One Sunday, Sibilla Schneider fell asleep forever. After winning an FIS race in Elm, she was coming home when the phone rang. Her sister Barbara answered and when she saw the expression on her face, “I immediately knew the reason for the call,” Schneider recalled.

42 years later, she would like to say more to her mother: “I like her. I think that just hasn’t been said enough.” And you often don’t realize that until it’s too late. (bir)

Source : Blick