FIS faces another prominent departure

Hannes Trinkl has been working as Speed Chief for the International Ski Federation (FIS) for twelve years.

After Race Director Markus Waldner resigned from his position before the start of the season, Trinkl is now also apparently considering resigning.

In his position, Trinkl is responsible for the preparation and course setting for top-level downhill races. Trinkl also knows from his own experience what is important in downhill skiing: in 2001, the Upper Austrian himself became Downhill World Champion.

New Race Director Decides on Future

Swiss-Ski head coach Tom Stauffer would deeply regret a possible departure of Trinkl. "The cooperation with Hannes has been very good over all these years. If he were to actually quit, he would be very difficult to replace in this position," said the Swiss.

In a telephone conversation with "Blick", Trinkl hints that his future will depend on the new race director. "This business is no laughing matter. It's about the health of the athletes. You have to think carefully about who you can carry that responsibility with - or not," said the 58-year-old.

Race Director Position Declined

After the departure of long-time Race Director Waldner, Trinkl was offered the position. However, the Upper Austrian declined the offer.

Instead, he appealed to those responsible: "The FIS should do everything in its power to bring Markus back, because in my opinion, there is no one better than him for this difficult job. He has a good rapport with everyone and has regularly made the right decisions in difficult moments."

However, a return of the 63-year-old South Tyrolean is considered very unlikely after the dispute with FIS Secretary General Urs Lehmann.

Thus, it remains to be seen who will take over the race director position in the future and whether Trinkl wishes to continue his work at the FIS under the new leadership.