When you look at Anna-Lena Forster’s CV, you ask yourself: What can come next? The monoskier has been a medal guarantor for the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) for years. Four gold medals at the Winter Paralympics and nine at the Alpine Ski World Championships. And this season Forster once again underlines its supremacy: 17 races. 17 wins. But for the two-time German Para-Athlete of the Year, this is no reason to rest on her laurels.
“I don’t just run the races against the competition, but also against myself,” said Forster, who is currently having her most successful season, in an interview with the FAZ “For me there is always room to further optimize myself, and this success is the result of the hard work of the past few years.”
Having just returned undefeated from the World Cup in Sapporo, Japan, the 28-year-old is turning her attention to the next races after a short break. From Tuesday we’re going to Hopfgarten in Austria. In March, Forster wants to compete in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, and Sella Nevea, Italy, at the end of the alpine para-ski season.
A full schedule. But Forster’s thoughts revolve not only around the future of her career, but also that of the sport. The fact that the German para-athlete was unrivaled in Japan was not due to her strong form, but rather to the fact that she was the only athlete to start in the seated alpine skiing category.
“You have to invest a lot of time and money”
Forster suspects that for some foreign participants it was also a question of cost – and that’s why they didn’t travel to Japan. “It was very challenging for Anna-Lena to find the motivation to compete alone and still perform well,” said Forster’s coach Justus Wolf.
Like Forster, he sees a challenge not only in the lack of competition from abroad, but also in the lack of young talent in Germany. “This sport is very special,” he says. “First of all, someone with a certain disability has to be interested in this risky sport. You have to invest a lot of time and a lot of money to get ahead there.”
As in the case of Forster, the equipment costs several thousand euros. Added to this is the search for barrier-free training locations and ultimately – and this applies to all winter sports – an area where there is enough snow. Para-athletes in particular are affected by the increasingly warm winter periods. An alarming situation that could also affect the sport’s biggest competition.
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“The Paralympic Winter Games are even more at risk from climate change since they traditionally take place in March, when temperatures are warmer than in February,” warned Christophe Dubi, the executive director of the International Olympic Committee in December 2023. “The search for suitable dates, that accommodate both the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be crucial.”
Not for this problem, but also for her sport itself, Forster wants more attention and support in the future so that it can reach both potential young talent and more viewers: “Even without climate change, we would be happy if anyone wanted to host the World Cup at all,” she says.
The World Ski Association is also asked. “This is our second season with the FIS. We would like our competitions to take place in the same places as those for able-bodied people.” Despite all the adversities, Anna-Lena Forster cannot take one thing away from her: the desire for further success. She also wants to prove herself as a medal guarantee at the next Winter Paralympics in 2026.