If she was disappointed with her giant (16th), the 22-year-old from Valais was rather satisfied with her first Olympic slalom as she finished in a promising 7th place.
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It was with a big smile that Camille Rast closed her slalom with a 7th place but especially the 3rd time of the second run.
Seventh and an Olympic diploma: if in a corner of her head Camille Rast had maybe dreamed of doing as well as Wendy Holdener, of leaving Yanqing with a medal, she knew very well that the mission would be complicated, that it would take her two rounds at the Vlhová to achieve this feat. In the end, there was only one, the second, where the 22-year-old from Valais set the 3rd fastest time, promising for the future. If in the end, she regretted a first course on which she lost too much time (9th at 1’18 from the German Lena Dürr), in the end, the result is rather positive while she was competing in her first Olympic slalom. There will be others…
Camille Rast, what is your feeling, “hot”, following this 7th place?
Hot is a lot of emotion. Wouldn’t it already be with this overall team result. Wendy’s medal brings us a lot of joy. As for my day, I can be really proud of my second run. I’m really glad I managed to ski like this. Unfortunately, at the premiere, I lose a little too much to claim a little more. There I come out with a 7th place while I was looking for a top 10. I think I can put on a positive scrub.
“”I can be really proud of my second run. I’m really glad I managed to ski like this.››
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Camille Rast was happy in the end.
In what state of mind were you just before you started this slalom?
There had been a bit of disappointment on Monday following the giant (16th) but I managed to get over it and raise my head this Wednesday morning where I was able to do some nice heats in the warm-up. If I was skeptical regarding the first round where I didn’t know if I was going to find the keys, I was more excited for the 2nd where the course was really nice. Mauro Pini, Vlhová’s coach, really did a nice thing for us that was not at all regular with changes of pace all the time. These are things that I love, For me it was perfect.
“”It just shows that work pays off.››
After all that you have been through (a mononucleosis and a serious knee injury), all these stages through which you had to go to rebuild yourself, what does this 7th place represent for you?
It just shows that work pays off. Because I will not be here today with so many sacrifices and all the people who helped me to come back, to continue to build myself and grow. I hope now that a lot of things are waiting for me. In any case, it gives me a lot of motivation to continue on this path. It shows that I am here and that if I keep working like this there is room for progress.
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Camille Rast might still be aiming for a medal at the Team Event.
Monday following the giant you said you put too much pressure on yourself. What did you change to evacuate her?
On Wednesday I wanted to catch up a little, to have fun and not spoil a beautiful slalom track by putting too much pressure on myself. So I really tried to release my skiing and the pressure at the start. I had a chat with the coaches I was up with and it was pretty good, like rarely in the season. I had a good feeling.
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Wendy Holdener’s bronze medal delighted the entire Swiss team, starting with Camille Rast.
Does Wendy Holdener’s medal seem to please you very much?
Yes clearly because we spent a lot of time together last year. A medal in a team of four with the best athletes in the world is still something. On arrival, we saw her a little disappointed because she didn’t think it was enough. But I met her just before coming to you, the emotions were there, the tears came up and it was really beautiful. It’s nice to play sports for those emotions.
And what did you tell Wendy?
Congratulations! That it was really deserved. It really touched me too, his medal, because I saw him at one point doubt. I was hoping she would do something good. I get along very well with her, she is really a nice girl, open to discussion. We really have a great team.
“”We must never stop dreaming and keep working for the future.››
What memories will you have of your first Games?
It’s been weird doing Olympics so far from home with so few audiences. I look forward to experiencing more Games at a resort in Europe. In Milan, it’s really going to be something nice. After, you should never stop dreaming and keep working for the future.
What is your program, the Team Event?
It’s still open, now with Covid you never know. I would still like to stay until the end, enjoy the slopes here to train and take a few days off before. And we’ll see what happens next…