The medal that Daniela Maier received, but which she may not be allowed to keep, is still at her home.

"And I always enjoy looking at them," says the ski crosser from Furtwangen.

And why not?

The bronze piece was officially hung on her at the Olympic Games in Beijing during the award ceremony.

But things aren't that simple.

The ski crossers in Val Thorens start the new season on Thursday and it is still not clear: May Maier keep the medal or will it be passed on to Fanny Smith from Switzerland?

"I do wish there was something official," says Maier.

The case is still with the International Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS.

"At the moment we are assuming that the medal will stay with Dani," says DSV ski cross boss Heli Herdt.

protests and counter-protests

In fact, Maier finished fourth in the Olympic final.

And that's actually why she didn't want the medal at all.

After lengthy discussions, however, the racing jury decided: Smith had hindered Maier.

The Swiss was disqualified, the German was upgraded.

Tears flowed, the clamor was great, there were protests and counter-protests, and at some point the appointments committee of the World Ski Federation FIS announced: Bronze belongs to the Swiss.

That's what it says on the FIS homepage.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), on the other hand, is in third place: Daniela Maier.

Now that the season is about to start, the 26-year-old has "closed" the topic for the time being, as she assures.

Well, it's not that easy to get rid of the images in your head.

"In China," she reports, "I really enjoyed it, the podium, the ceremony, that was something special." When she was at home, she was eventually "overwhelmed" by the argument: "It was difficult, the Showing a medal when it's such a big discussion."

Why not bronze for both?

There would be a Solomonic verdict: bronze for both.

But the Swiss are pretty stubborn: there can only be one for them.

Maier and former world champion Smith have already cleared things up.

During joint training sessions on the Reiteralm in Austria, "we talked extensively about the whole thing, it's settled between the two of us," emphasizes Maier.

And, how about bronze for both?

"That would be," adds Maier with a smile, "the best decision."