Karlheinz Pichler is an Austrian ski coach. Ester Ledecká announced at a pre-season press conference on 7 October 2026 that her new ski coaches would be him and his compatriot Gernot Grasser. Pichler, who was 57 at the time, has the role of head ski coach, and Grasser is the second coach.[1]
According to the Czech News Agency, he previously led the German team with skiers Emma Aicher and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and worked on the most significant results of Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.[1] Pichler said that at the end of March Patrick Rimmel of Red Bull phoned him to say that Ester Ledecká was looking for a new coach. They met two days later and talked for about an hour; according to him, he was struck by her energy and enthusiasm.[1]
Ledecká said that she has known the new team since spring and that the main joint work took place at an intensive camp in Chile.[1][2]
Chronology
- — Ester Ledecká announced at a press conference that her new ski coaches for the coming season would be the Austrians Karlheinz Pichler and Gernot Grasser, while Justin Reiter remains her snowboard coach. → ČTK / České noviny iROZHLAS
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 7 October 2026
- Deník.cz — 7 October 2026