LAUSANNE – Slovak skier Petra Vlhová completed a two-day visit to the capital of the world Olympics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
During it, she visited the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, as well as the Olympic Museum, and also met the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach. The website olympic.sk informed about it. The slalom gold medalist from Beijing 2022 used the short free period after the world championships in Courchevel and Méribel and before the World Cup races in Crans-Montana to visit.
A great honor from the head of the IOC
Vlha was accompanied in Lausanne by assistant coach Matej Gemza, physiotherapist Ivana Gašpáreková and team manager, brother Boris Vlha. However, due to health problems, he did not participate in the visit to the headquarters of the IOC and the Olympic Museum. Coach Mauro Pini was also absent as he bounced home.
At the IOC headquarters, Vlhová had an unplanned meeting with President Bach, who presented the three-time Olympian with an OLY certificate. Olympians from all over the world can brag about this, and they can use the abbreviation OLY on their business cards or in official communication.
“We had two free days after the World Championship. Several members of our team used them to visit their families, but we chose to visit Lausanne. It was a good diversion for us when we couldn’t train and it was also a mental adjustment for us other,” said Matej Gemza.
“We knew that at the IOC headquarters, Olympic medalists have the opportunity to inscribe themselves on the glass wall. Petra wanted to take advantage of this and at the same time see the IOC headquarters. During our visit, IOC President Thomas Bach was informed of her presence, who came to greet her and present her with an OLY certificate “ Matej Gemza also revealed to olympic.sk.
The next day, Vlhová and members of her team in Lausanne visited the Olympic Museum, which contains sports and Olympic collections. The Slovak skier posed there with her helmet, which she donated to the museum after last year’s Olympics, and with her racing skis, which were provided to the museum by Rossignol.
The Olympic Museum also has artefacts from other Slovak Olympic champions – biathlete Anastasia Kuzminová, or water slalom skiers Michal Martikán and Petr and Pavel Hochschorner.
- Author: © List
- PHOTO: Instagram/athlete365; Facebook/The Olympic Museum – The Olympic Museum
- Source: TASR
