«OYM» stands for «On Your Marks» and marks the moment before the starting gun, in which top athletes focus on their feat. «Sport is pure passion and has always been the centre of my life», says Gian Gilli. Today he chairs a foundation that supports young athletes so they can train at the OYM in Cham (ZG) – his way of giving something back to the sport that means so much to him.
Gilli grew up as a farmer’s boy in Zuoz (GR) in the Upper Engadine. After studying sport at the University of Bern he taught as a PE teacher while also ranking among Switzerland’s best cross-country skiers. But he made his career off the track, as a sports manager: cross-country national coach from 1988, CEO of the 2003 Alpine Ski World Championships in St. Moritz from 1999, head of elite sport at Swiss-Ski from 2006 to 2009, organising-committee president of the 2009 Ice Hockey World Championship in Bern and Kloten, and Chef de Mission for Swiss Olympic at the Games in Vancouver (2010), London (2012) and Sochi (2014). In 2020 he took over project management of the Ice Hockey World Championship that fell victim to the Covid pandemic.
Gilli moved from one top position to the next, always on the move, always on a winning course. Along the way he observed many high performers and always asked himself what drives them and which path they take. Since 2020 he has worked independently as a motivational speaker on performance development in sport and work. He shares his knowledge of how to fulfil your potential without burning out. «Athletes always operate at the highest revs», he says, «recovery is crucial to staying capable over the long term.»
A chance encounter in 2021 brought a turning point in Gilli’s life. An old friend told him he was looking for a new herdsman for the Timun alp in the Val Chamuera. Gilli didn’t hesitate for long: «I absolutely wanted to try it – you have to do such things while you still can.» His wife Christina, a former cross-country skier and multiple Swiss champion whom he has known since his sport studies and with whom he has three grown-up daughters, gave the green light. A single summer on the alp was planned – now it’s already three.
High up, at 2,300 metres above sea level, Gilli spends four months of the year in total peace and seclusion. «You’re out alone for hours every day, without meeting a living soul – you have plenty of time to think.» The simple life in harmony with nature is, he says, an addictive combination: «Endorphins, happiness hormones, are here in abundance.» Sure, he’d treated himself to breaks before – but only here, with no phone, computer or television, did he realise how little you need to be happy.
His only task on the alp is to watch over the 300 mother cows and their calves, scattered widely across more than 1,000 hectares of steep slope. «In the morning you sometimes walk for an hour before you meet the first cow», says Gilli. Incidentally, that leads to undreamt-of feats. «On the alp I climb 700 vertical metres a day», he reckons proudly, «that’s seven times up Mount Everest per season – and from sea level at that!»
What is the key to success in the second half of life? Gilli: «You have to stay open, listen to your inner voice and have the courage to take new paths when the opportunity arises.»
This article appeared in MEN issue 2/23 (November 2023).
