Lara Gut (Italian pronunciation: [ˈlaːra ˈɡuːt], (born 27 April 1991) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines except slalom and specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G.

Career

Lara Gut was born in Sorengo, Canton Ticino. Her father, Pauli Gut, is Swiss, and her mother, Gabriella Almici, who is masseuse, was born in Zone, Lombardy. Gut participated in her first FIS races at age 15 in December 2006. At the Alpine Youth World Championship 2007 at Altenmarkt, Austria, she won silver in downhill. In the same year, she became Swiss national champion in super-G, the second youngest champion of all time. In the 2007 season, Gut finished 2nd in the downhill standings of the Europa Cup.

In late December 2007, Gut made her World Cup debut in a giant slalom at Lienz, Austria. In January 2008, at Caspoggio, she won four consecutive Europa Cup races. At her first World Cup downhill race on 2 February 2008, Gut made the podium at third place at St. Moritz, despite falling on the finishing pitch and sliding on her back through the finish line; she finished only 0.35 seconds behind the winner. She followed her World Cup speed debut with a fifth-place finish in the super-G the next day. Following the 2008 season, Gut was moved up to the World Cup team for the 2009 season.