Hamburg - Ski-jumper Simon Ammann and cross-country skier Dario Cologna weren't even mentioned on Tuesday when the Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ) published a fictional review of Swiss sports glory in 2009.

The paper hailed the alpine skiers for vast success at the world championships in Val d'Isere, saying "our ski aces made their presence felt like they hadn't done in a long time" and said the success "sent the folks back home into a frenzy."

The NZZ felt reminded "of the glory days of (Bernhard) Russi und (Roland) Collombin, of Pirmin Zurbriggen and Vreni Schneider."

Switzerland in the past years mainly cheered tennis star Roger Federer, cyclist Fabian Cancellara and marathon runner Viktor Roethlin.

But improved training facilities and structures have played their part in the new-found success in ski sports which appears somewhat natural for the alpine nation.

Alpine skiers have traditionally been the most successful with world and Olympic titles and 17 overall World Cup crowns.

But Swiss skiers have not won the men's World Cup since Paul Accola in 1990 and the women's edition since Schneider in 1995.

Now things appear to look promising again, with Didier Cuche winning successive downhill trophies in 2007 and 2008 and Daniel Albrecht a super-combined world title in 2007.

Both are medal contenders at the worlds in February and so could be 17-year-old sensation Lara Gut, who got her first career win on December 20 in St Moritz.

The public and officials have mixed feelings that she names non-Swiss racers as role models and trains on her own. But Swiss women's coach Hugues Ansermoz has a lot of praise for his starlet.

"Lara has an unbelievable ski intelligence. She looks at a course and immediately knows the fastest way down," he said.

Ammann also gained fame as a youngster when he claimed double ski-jump gold at the 2002 Olympics and was swiftly named Harry Potter for his resemblance to the novel and movie hero.

But the jumping magic was gone for a long time before Ammann returned with a 2007 world title. Now, at age 27, he appears at the peak of his career, has five season wins and aims to be the first Swiss jumper to win the World Cup title and the Four Hills Tour.

"When the success was gone I no longer felt like a magician. But now I can almost fly magical again, that is a great feeling," said Ammann, who won the Tour opener in Oberstdorf on Monday.

The same day, the rising Cologna retained the overall lead in the Tour de Ski cross-country series after three of seven stages and could even be a contender for Switzerland's first cross-country World Cup title.

Cologna's stage win on Sunday, coupled with Gut's third place in a giant slalom the same day, prompted the NZZ to say that "Swiss winter sports athletes had another reason to cheer."

And the NZZ will have had Cologna, Ammann and their world championships in late February in mind among others when it said in its 2009 review that "one highlight followed the other after this great overture" in alpine skiing.