Lara Gut-Behrami: Chasing Gold Even in Her Dreams

Lara Gut-Behrami, one of the most decorated alpine ski racers in the modern era, has long been associated with passion, precision, and unrelenting determination. With Olympic medals, World Championship titles, and World Cup globes to her name, her legacy is firmly etched in skiing history. But beyond her victories on the slopes lies a more intimate and lesser-known narrative—her dreams. Not merely metaphorical aspirations, but her literal nocturnal visions that offer a unique window into the mind of an elite athlete.

For Lara, dreams are not just fleeting images of the subconscious; they are a continuation of her intense connection to skiing. In numerous interviews and personal accounts, the Swiss skier has alluded to the vivid and action-packed sequences that unfold in her sleep—dreams in which she is not only skiing but competing, falling, rising, winning, and constantly pushing the edge. These dreamscapes reveal much about her inner drive and the emotional depth she invests in her sport.

The Mental Landscape of a Champion

High-performance athletes often describe the profound psychological demands of their careers. The mind is a critical tool, as important as the physical body. For Lara, who started skiing almost as soon as she could walk, the mental rehearsal and emotional stakes of racing seem to bleed into her subconscious. Her dreams frequently mirror the realities of training and competition—some nights she’s soaring through perfect Super-G runs, other nights she confronts the fear of crashing or losing by hundredths of a second.

Dreams can be reflections of stress, desire, and memory. In Lara’s case, they seem to function as all three. Her nighttime mind replays past races, reimagines scenarios, and sometimes invents surreal landscapes that blend snow-covered peaks with impossible physics. These are not dreams of escape, but of engagement—a form of mental training and emotional processing. Her racing doesn’t end at the finish line; it continues in REM cycles, long after the cameras have stopped rolling.

A Psychological Edge

There is growing recognition in sports science of the role dreams can play in performance. Dream-based visualization, whether intentional or spontaneous, has been shown to help athletes refine their technique, process anxiety, and even boost confidence. While Lara Gut-Behrami may not consciously use her dreams as training tools, the vividness and frequency of her skiing dreams suggest a subconscious rehearsal that might contribute to her mental readiness and resilience.

This deep entanglement of dreams and reality is part of what separates the good from the great. In Lara’s dreams, there is no off-season. There is no pause button on competition. Whether she is reliving the tight turns of Cortina d’Ampezzo or the gliding speed of a downhill in Lake Louise, her subconscious keeps the spirit of racing alive. It’s a testament to how deeply skiing is ingrained in her identity—not as a job, but as a calling.

Dreams of Victory—and Vulnerability

Yet, not all of Lara’s dreams are victorious. Some involve fear, confusion, or failure. These are the dreams that humanize her. Beneath the confident exterior of a champion is a person who wrestles with doubt, with the weight of expectation, and with the memory of injuries. Dreams of crashing or being overtaken at the last gate might reflect her fears of decline or inadequacy. They remind us that even elite athletes carry emotional scars.

But these dreams are not paralyzing. Instead, they are a space where she confronts her vulnerabilities, where she prepares for adversity in a way that reality often doesn’t permit. It is in these moments—both real and dreamt—that Lara Gut-Behrami’s true strength emerges. Her ability to face the worst in her sleep and still rise to perform in the waking world is what makes her a rare kind of athlete.

Beyond the Finish Line

As Lara Gut-Behrami continues her career—defying expectations, rewriting records, and inspiring a new generation of skiers—her dreams remain a quiet, powerful companion. They serve as a reminder that champions are forged not only in stadiums or on podiums but also in the silent hours of the night, when no one is watching, and the only competition is within.

Her dreams are not an escape from the sport but an extension of it. They are her private training ground, her emotional canvas, her inner racecourse. And in them, Lara is always moving—chasing speed, fighting limits, and, above all, staying true to the mountain.