Jasmine Flury photo Kästle

It would be best to use “sensation” or “sensational” in sports deliberately and sparingly. But it was a surprise when Jasmine Flury from Davos won downhill gold at the World Championships in Méribel on February 11th of this year (see video below). Flury has been among the top 20 female speed event skiers for years. However, her career World Cup podiums include a 2017 St. Moritz super-G victory and second place in a 2022 Garmisch-Partenkirchen downhill. But in Méribel, Flury became the tenth downhill world champion from Switzerland. And with this title under her belt — and behind her — in her pocket – and behind her – the Graubünden woman, who just turned 30, is heading into the next World Cup season.

Does the title she won in France contribute an additional boost to her self-confidence? Or does World Championship gold put extra pressure on Flury? The athlete from SC Rinerhorn has a clear opinion on this. “I learned lessons from the St. Moritz victory. It is crucial not to put myself under pressure or allow myself to be put under pressure. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Concentrating on myself and my skiing is crucial. Nobody can take the world title away from me, and I noticed at the end of last winter that this success would benefit me mentally rather than harm me.”

From Fischer to Kästle

Just as surprising as winning the world title was the announcement on May 6th that she would change her equipment supplier after only two years of using Fischer, much to the surprise of her future supplier. Four days later, the official confirmation followed that Flury had become a brand colleague of two-time downhill world champion Ilka Štuhec and Olympic champion Ester Ledecká. It confirmed that World champion Flury will compete with sports equipment from Kästle starting the 2023/24 season. It is rare to change ski brands only months after an athlete celebrates their greatest success. 

Flury explains: “In the middle of the season, I started thinking about what the future might look like regarding the equipment. I concluded that I would probably not end my career on Fischer material.”

As the end of her career is approaching, Flury says she decided to make a change. After making this significant decision, her mind was free again and she could concentrate on the 2023/24 season. And then came the World Championship run with the golden outcome. “Winning the title didn’t make the whole thing any easier and unsettled me. However, testing with other brands at the end of the season was just the right thing to eliminate this feeling of uncertainty.” Ultimately, it was a decision that had a lot to do with the feeling of perhaps wanting to change something one last time. In the years after leaving Stöckli, she looked for more consistency at Fischer but only partially found it.

She will continue her search with skis from Kästle and (for now) Lange ski boots. Flury chose Kästle over other manufacturers partly due to her connection with Slovenian athlete Ilka Štuhec, her former brand partner at Stöckli.

“If Ilka hadn’t had such a strong and consistently good winter in 2023/24, I would hardly have considered Kästle a possible new partner. She showed how much potential there is at Kästle and in its materials.” At Stöckli, Štuhec, who switched to Kästle in spring 2022, and Jasmine Flury were on the same brand but not identical models.

What it will be like at Kästle, will the two experienced athletes benefit from each other remains to be seen. “I am happy that I took this step. I feel comfortable in the Kästle team and am happy to have good people around me.” Flury pursues the desired consistency while adapting to the new materials by working with ski serviceman Pier-Luigi Parravicini. Fortunately for her, she knows she can trust his expertise.

Pressure to Perform and the Zermatt premiere

In 2021, the then-18-year-old talent Alessia Bösch ended her career as a ski racer. One of the reasons was the constant pressure to perform. In the winter of 2022/23, Selina Egloff, then 21 years old, took a break from racing for the same reason, among other things. The Slovenian Štefan Hadalin (28) reacted to similar problems by ending the season early, and a few days ago, Lara Gut-Behrami (32) also spoke of difficulties motivating.

These are issues that Flury has also had to deal with during her career. “I had a low after the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo,” says the 30-year-old. That year, her World Championships ended after two downhill training runs because the coaches did not choose her to race. “It wasn’t necessarily the pressure to perform that bothered me. You primarily put pressure on yourself. But I think every top athlete experiences a dip in their career that they must overcome. Luckily, I managed to do it.”

All of this is in the past. The focus is on the future. Conditions permitting, the first speed race will occur in Zermatt/Cervinia on November 18th — a new slope still unknown to all the racers. An advantage for the experienced Flury? “A lot has already been said about this race, but I still know little about the course and the challenges. There will probably be long turns to be skied. Ultimately, I’m like everyone else: I’ll have to let myself be surprised. I always find it exciting to compete on a new course. I don’t know whether the experience will benefit me in Zermatt. One thing is certain: the clock is at zero for everyone at the start in Zermatt.”