Swiss skiers Luedi and Gygax announce retirements
May 04, 2023·Ski Cross
Two stars of the SwissSki freestyle squad announced their retirements last week, with ski cross legend Sanna Luedi and aerials ace Nicolas Gygax electing to bring their competitive careers to a close.
37-year-old Luedi earned three victories and 10 podiums in 73 starts in a World Cup career that also saw her miss significant time due to injuries, including all of the 2010/11, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2022/23 seasons.
However, Luedi was nothing if not a model of persistence throughout her career, returning time and again from injury to reestablish her place amongst the world’s best. Luedi never shied away from a challenge and never held back in her ski cross career, and her hard-charging style and shining personality will be missed on the ski cross World Cup tour.
As for Gygax, the 27-year-old earned two World Cup podiums in 41 starts over the course of his eight-year World Cup career, and he was a key member of the Swiss aerials team during what has been a renaissance period for the squad. After six years without a World Cup podium from February 2013 to February 2019, the Swiss aerials team has been on an exceptional run since their return to the top-3, with 27 podiums in that time.
However, the Swiss squad’s continued success in the future will have to come without Gygax as he moves on to new endeavours.
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